Secrets and Lies
by Anonamus-A
Summary: In a small town in Ohio, three girls have been found dead, and four more could be potential victims. But nothing is as it seems with these girls, who know more about what's happening than they let on.T for lang and violence. -A
1. Why Do the Good Die Young?

A/N: Okay, this is my first Criminal Minds fanfic, so I'm not sure how good it'll be. You'll notice a lot of the story will be from Spencer's point of view, and that's because he's my favorite character, but others will be focus from time to time. :D There will be swearing, so if you don't like, don't read. Please, tell me what you think, just no flames. Constructive criticizim welcome, just not about spelling. I'm a horrible speller sometimes and I don't have spell check. Anyway. I don't own Criminal Minds or any of it's characters (too bad :() and I am not making any money for this. The only things I own here are my OC's and my (sometimes evil :)) imagination. Hope you like it. -A

Chapter 1: Why Do the Good Die Young?

_I don't believe in happy endings, but I do believe in happy travels, because ultimately, you die at a very young age, or you live long enough to watch your friends die. _-George Clooney

The BAU sat in the confrence room, somber and quiet as a case was passed out. When everyone had their copy open, Prentiss stood and started talking.

"Okay, this is a case sent over from Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Three fifteen year-old girls were reported missing at different times, and a few days after each report, they were found. The girls suffered from blunt-force trama from the back of the head, but the C.O.D was asphyxiation.

"The first victim," she paused to press a button, making a photo of a blonde girl appear. She was smiling broadly, not a care in the world, happy. Then another picture appeared. This one was of the same girl, but was the exact opposite of the other. Her blonde hair was dirty and matted with blood. The ligature marks were obvoius, stark agains the pale skin. Her baby blue eyes stared unseeingly up, "is Chelsea Dumant. Her mother reported her missing nearly six weeks ago, she was found in a local park five days later by a woman walking her dog."

Two more pictures appeared on the screen. One was a school photo of a black-haired girl with startling green eyes. She didn't look happy, really, but not upset. Just... there. The other picture was similar to the photo from the first girl's death. "Andria James. Reported missing by her grandparents four weeks after the first girl was found. Andria was found in a Wal-mart parking lot by an employee who worked a moring shift."

The last two pictures came up. This one was a family photo. The parents had their arms wrapped lovingly around her. The girl's hair was a deep red, sort of like cherry. Her eyes were chocolate brown. She had a young boy on her lap, maybe five or six. The crime-scene photo was the same as the other two. "This is Kathrin Perish. Her little brother found her in their back yard last week. She had stayed home from school, her parents were at work, and her brother went out to play after he got home from school." Everyone internally cringed at the thought of a five-year-old boy finding his big sister dead. He must be tramatized.

"Are the victims connected in any way?" Reid asked.

"They were all freshmen at Mt. Vernon Public High School."

"Do local P.D. have a suspect?" Morgan asked. Prentiss shook her head. Of course not, why would anything be that simple?

"Do they know why anyone would want them dead?" Hotch asked.

"Um. They interviewed the families who all gave the same answers. They were sweet girls. Everyone loved them, they never did anything to anyone. P.D thinks it's a random selection."

"Okay," Hotch said, standing up. "We can talk more about this on the plane. Be ready to leave in half an hour." With that, he walked out, everyone following suit. Everyone except Reid. JJ noticed him still sitting there, staring at the photos that remained on the screen.

"Everything okay, Spence?" She asked, coming up behind him.

"Well, I have a hard time beliveing that this could be random."

"Why? The victim's look nothing alike, they were found in completly different areas. The only connections are the town, age, and school."

"But it's not exactly a big town. The chances of a serial killer who's just now surfacing and killing this close together, being this sloppy... I can't imagine there not being a reason that the UnSub chose _these _girls."

"I guess... if he does have a reason, we'll find it and we'll catch him," she told him. He gave her a tight smile and stood.

"You're right. Thanks, JJ." With that, he left the room.


	2. Best Friends Forever, Till Death

Chapter 2: Best Friends Forever, Till Death Do We Part  
><em><br>__We call that person who has lost his father, an orphan; and a widower that man who has lost his wife. But that man who has known the immense unhappiness of losing a friend, by what name do we call him? Here every language is silent and holds its peace in impotence._ - Joseph Roux

On the jet, Spencer voiced his opinion about the murders not being random. The rest of the team wasn't so sure, but they it was a possibility they were considering none the less. Other than that, there wasn't really much else to talk about, so after only about twenty minutes, they were all left to their own devices.

When they landed, Hotch gave the orders of who goes where. "Okay," he said. "Morgan, I want you to go talk to the family of the first victim, Prentiss, go talk to the family of the second victim, and JJ, the third. Reid, go to the school, see if the teachers can tell you anything about someone who might have wanted to hurt them. Rossi, you come with me to the police station so we can get set up." Everyone nodded split up. Spencer had a vague idea of why Hotch had sent him to the school; he was the one who thought the murders were linked. Maybe Hotch was giving him the chance to prove it.

CM

At the school, Spencer realized that he didn't know where the main office was... then he saw four teenage girls at a vending machine and figured he'd ask rather than try to find it by himself. Slowly, he walked up to them.

"Excuse me," he said. They turned and looked at him, eyes going wide when they realized he wasn't another student.

"Shit!" one of them cursed under her breath. She was a bit heavy-set, and had long blonde hair thrown up in a loose pony tail and light blue eyes.

"What was that?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Um, nothing!" she said hastily. He pushed that off and opened his mouth to speak, but another girl cut him off. She was shorted than the rest of them, and had hair that was only a few inches longer than his own, similar and color, and was throw into a sloppy pony tail at the base of her skull. She wore glasses and her speech was slurred due to a retainer (the wire could be seen on her top teeth).

"Are you the math sub people have been talking about?" she asked.

"Um, no. My name is Dr. Spencer Reid, I work with the FBI. I was wondering-" but another girl cut him off. She was tall. Really tall. She was eye level with him. Her brown hair was shoulder length, like the short girl, but not in a pony tail. She too wore glasses, but spoke in kind of a proper way, sort of formal.

"Are you here because of Chelsea, Andria, and Katie?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, and I was-" but the final girl cut him off.

"I hope you catch the son of a bitch who did that to them." This girl was only slightly taller than the secong girl and wore her hair in the same way. She didn't have glasses, but they looked a lot alike, even in their posture.

"Should you girls really be talking like that?"

"What? Are you our mom?" the second girl asked. He was starting to lose his patience.

"Could you please tell me where the office is?" he asked.

"We'll take you," the first girl said.

"That's okay, you can just-"

"We are heading that direction anyway," the third girl said. "It is no big deal." Spencer shrugged.

"Okay, lead the way." They walked for a moment in silence, but he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"So, did you know those girls?" They all stopped dead in their tracks and turned to face him.

"_Know? _We were best friends!" He stared at them.

"All of you?" They nodded. The second girl pulled out her cell phone, pressed some buttons and held it out to him. On the screen, seven girls smiled up at him, all sqeezing themselves tight together to fit into the camera's lens. Three were the victims, and four were the girls who stood in front of him now. He handed the phone back. "I need you to text this to me," he told her.

"What?"

"Text it to me."

"Why?"

"Because, it may be relevant to the case." He didn't want to worry them with his theory that he UnSub may be targeting them. "Send it to me." Eyes wide at the urgency in his voice, she nodded. He told her his phone number and she sent it. A few seconds later, his phone buzzed in his pocket and he waisted no time before sending it to Hotch.

_Here's our connection. I think the UnSub is targeting the girls in this picture. _That's what he sent with the picture to Hotch. With that, they continued to the main office.

CM

_Knock, knock, knock! _Morgan rapped on the door of the victim's family. A moment later, it opened and a blonde-haired woman opened the door. She looked almost exactly like her daughter had, he realized.

"Yes?"

"Hello, I'm Agent Morgan with the FBI. I'm here investigating your daughter's murder." He kept his voice gentle, trying not to upset her. Regardless, tear swam in her eyes.

"I already spoke with the police."

"I know, but there may be something you can tell me that you may not have thought important to tell the police, and that could help us a lot."

"Oh... okay, come in." She stepped aside and let him pass. She closed the door behind him and led him to a small sitting room, gesturing for him to sit. Once he was seated, she sat across from him.

"So, Mrs. Dumant, did you notice anyone watching Chelsea, anyone paying too much attention to her?" The woman shook her head. "Was there anyone with a grudge, maybe? Someone who threatend her?"

"No. She would have told me. She would have..." Tears started leaking from her eyes.

"Um... maybe we should take a break, if this is too hard..." She nodded and stood, walking over to a mantle that was ladden with pictures. She picked one up and returned to the couch.

"She was such a sweet girl. Smart and... and beautiful. And she had such wonderful friends." With a sniffle, Mrs. Dumant held the photo out to Morgan. When he saw it, he nearly dropped it. Standing with Chelsea Dumant were the two other victims, along with four other girls.

"You never told police that two of the other victims were friends with Chelsea," he said. She stared up at him, bleary-eyed, looking rather sheep-ish.

"I-I didn't think it was important..." She bit her lip.

"Ma'am, do you mind if I take this? It may be important to finding the man who did this." She nodded.

"Do... do you want the names of the other four girls?" He thought for a second and nodded.

"That would be very helpful." She walked to a small desk and grabbed a pen and sheet of paper, writing on it for a moment, then walking back over and giving it to him. Morgan quickly read it over.

_Amber Hunter- Short brunett w/ glasses.  
>Sara Shipley- Blonde.<br>Rachel Hart- Tall brunett w/ glasses.  
>Kelly Preten- Short Brunerr wout glasses._

"Thank you," he said as she led him back to the door. _Well, I'll be damned, _he thought. _Reid was right about it not being random at all. _


	3. The Suspect List Just Got Longer

Chapter 3: The Suspect List Just Got Longer

_From depicting the past, so goes the suspicion, it is a short step to glorifying the past-_ Lion Feuchtwanger

The party reached the office moments later. Before the girls walked away, Spencer asked them their names. A moment later, they were completly etched into his brain. With that, he pushed the door open and stopped in front of the secritary's desk. She looked up and smiled sweetly at him.

"Hello," she said. "You must be Dr. Reid. I got a call saying you were coming." He nodded and she handed him a visitor's pass. "You know, you look an awful lot like the nineth grade math substitute..." Wow, that's the second time he's head that... Shaking her head, she stood and walked around the desk. "Please follow me." He did and they walked past a series of small rooms down a hallway, stopping in front of a closed wooden door that had the Mrs. Hale. She knocked and a moment later, the door was opened by a young, blonde woman with stunning green eyes.

"Hello. Dr. Reid?"

"Yes." She held out a hand, which he took.

"Please, come in." He nodded and followed her in the office. She turned back to the older woman. "Thank you Ms. Cope." Smiling Ms. Cope returned to her desk.

"So, the FBI has been called in to investigate the murders?" she asked. Spencer nodded. "Dr. Reid, you seem a bit young to be working with the FBI. If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?"

"I just turned twenty-seven a few months ago."

"How long have you been working there?"

"Four years. I was twenty-three when I started there." She smiled.

"Really?"

"Yes, and if _you_ don't mind," he said, trying to keep his voice polite and business-like, "I think we should get back to the reason I'm here."

"Right," she said with a smile. "I'm sorry. Please, ask away."

"Okay, I met some girls who said they were friends with the girls."

"Amber and her gang?" He nodded. "Yes, they all had almost evey class together. You hardly saw them away from eachother."

"Why didn't you tell the police that all the victims were friends?" he asked.

"Well, no one questioned me, but I figured one of the parents would tell police regardless."

"Why did you say 'Amber and her gang?'"

"She and Chelsea, they were the ring-leaders, so to say. Chelsea was very charismatic, people just wanted to be friends with her. Amber, she's very kind. She's smart, A's every term. The two together were a very dynamic duo."

"What about the other girls?"

"Andria was a very depressing person, Gothic, I believe. But she and Amber hit it off. Katie... she was a bit troubles, but she had a good heart. Chelsea liked her and the other girls included her in everything."

"And what about the girls that are still... here?"

"They are quiet girls, mostly. Sara... she's a bit aggressive sometimes, well, in the way she talks. She's never been in a fight, as far as I know. Rachel is sort of awkward, but she and Amber were friends way before they met the others. Kelly... she's a lot like Amber and Sara. Amber in looks and somewhat personality, without grades. Sara, they think alike and speak alike." She paused for a moment and asked, "Do you think whoever kill the other three will try to kill them?"

Spencer bit his lip before answering. "It's possible..." She opened her mouth to speak again when his phone buzzed again. He pulled it out to find that it was Hotch. _Saved by the bell, _he thought as he stood. "I'll be right back. I need to take this." She smiled and nodded as he stepped out of the office and pressed 'talk.'

"Hey, Hotch. You got my text message?"

"Yes, and I think you're right about the murders being connected."

"Do you think the other girls are in danger?" Spencer asked in a low voice.

"Possibly. JJ, Prentiss, and Morgan, I are coming over to the school. I want you four on protective detail, just to be safe. I called the parents to come to, and I'll explain everything to them and the girls when we get there."

"Okay. Thanks." With that, the line went dead, and Spencer went back into Mrs. Hale's office. He sat down and explained to her what Hotch said.

"Okay, I can have Ms. Cope call them here over the P.A... but then they'll think they're in trouble. I'll just have the office aid go and get them," she decided as she stood and walked to the door. "I'll be back in just a moment."

CM

The girls sat at the round tabel in the media center, heads close together as they discussed the fact the the FBI was now investigating the murders.

"Do you think we should tell them about... _him?_" Sara asked. The other three shook their heads.

"Are you crazy?" Rachel asked. "If we tell on him, he will tel on us."

"But if he killed them..." Sara started, but her words trailed off.

"Look," Amber said. "We don't know everything that happend the night Chels went missing. For all we know, it was just some psyco." He eyes looked ahead and saw a boy walking over slowly. "Speaking of psyco's," she muttered. The boy was Conner Jenkins. His pale blonde hair hanging in his blue eyes, which never failed to glare ahead, would have made him cute. But everyone at school knew he was a freak, a creep.

"What do you want, perv?" Kelly asked.

"You're needed in the office," he told them before turning and walking back out. With a collective sigh, the girls stood and followed suit. A few moments later, they were in front of Dr. Reid again. Conner was glaring at them from the aid's desk, and they glared back. The action didn't go unnoticed by Spencer. _If looks could kill, _he thought. Something was weird about them, but that was a problem for later. He'd have to remember to look into him later... They may have a suspect. 


	4. Protective Detail

Chapter 4: Protective Detail

_When men talk about defence, they always claim to be protecting women and children, but they never ask the women and children what they think _- Pat Schroeder

The girls and Spencer were sitting in Mrs. Hale's office, awkward silence pressing on them. He wanted to ask what was going on between them and the office aid, but not in front of Mrs. Hale. He figured he'd have to wait till he was alone on protective detail to ask one of the girls. Then her cell phone rung and she had to step out to take it. He was now saved by the bell twice.

"I noticed you and the aid were... glaring at each other. Care to tell me why? And who he is?" They hesitated, not sure how much to tell him. Then Amber spoke.

"The perv is Conner Jenkins."

"Perv?"

"He's gotten in trouble for going into the girl's bathrooms and locker rooms too many times to count. And he just _stares. _It's really creepy." Not exactly what he'd been expecting, but it explained the glaring. So maybe a suspect, maybe not.

Then Mrs. Hale came back in, followed by two older women, one young woman, and an older man. One was short. Really short. Amber, who was hardly five feet tall was about half a foot taller. She had long black hair and big glasses. She went over and stood behind Sara. The second woman went over to stand behind Amber. She was about two inches shorter than her, making her look younger, but Spencer knew she was most likely an older sister. The third woman, who stood behind Kelly, and looked like an older copy. The man was Rachel's father, he guessed (she was the only one left, anyway) and he was taller than his daughter. He made Spencer feel kind of short, and he was a generally tall person.

Spencer smiled as he shook their hands. "Hello, my name is Dr. Spencer Reid. I work with the FBI."

"Yes," the man said. "We spoke to an Agent Hotchner who told us we'd meet you here. I'm John Hart."

"Annie Shiply," the short woman said.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Mary Perish," Kelly's mother said.

"Hailey Grimland, Amber's sister."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you come instead of your parents?"

"Their both at work," Amber explained. He nodded.

"Dr. Reid," Annie said, "Agent Hotchner didn't say much over the phone. Could you tell us why we're here?"

"Actually, he and a few other agents will be here shortly, and will explain everything." Another moment passed in silence before there was a knock on the door. Mrs. Hale opened it and Ms. Cope gestured for Hotch, JJ, Prentiss, and Morgan to step in. They shook hands with the girls and their family, introducing themselves.

"Will you please tell us why you've asked us to come here?" Mrs. Shiply asked. Hotch nodded.

"I'm sure you're all aware of the murders in this area?" Everyone visibly tensed up at the mention. They all nodded hesitantly. "We think the UnSub-" he cut off at the confused/blank expressions and clarified. "Unidentified subject may come after these girls next."

"Because they were friends with the other girls?" Mrs. Perish asked.

"Maybe, or maybe because there's someone with a grudge against all of them." Most of them opened their mouths to speak, but Hotch held up a hand to stop them. "We're not taking chances. I want one of my agents on a protective detail for each girl."

"Is this really neccissary?" Mr. Hart asked.

"I think so, and I don't want to risk any lives. If it proves to be useless, they I guess we were better safe than sorry." Some of them looked reluctant, but agreed none the less. They didn't want the girls to get hurt.

"Okay, Agent Jareau will be with Kelly and Agent Prentiss will be with Sara. I'm sorry that those are the only women on my team, but gender really doesn't matter." Mr. Heart and Hailey nodded. Hotch continued. "Agent Morgan will go with Rachel, leaving Amber with Dr. Reid." Internally, Amber groaned. How did she get stuck with the nerd? _Eff my life! _she thought. After a few more comments, everyone walked out of the office. This would be a long case.


	5. White and Nerdy!

A/N: Okay, this is pretty much just a fluff/filler chapter where the characters get to know each other. It's not relivant, per se, but you learn about the girls a little. I don't own Criminal Minds or White and Nerdy, just my OC's. Please review. Oh, and the places mentioned in this story are real, except, I've never been inside Mt. Vernon High School, so I describe it like the high school I go to, just so there's no confusion. Kay? -A

Chapter 5: White and Nerdy!

_Live and work but do not forget to play, to have fun in life and really enjoy it _- Eileen Caddy

As the agents were getting their visitor's passes, the bell rang, indicating the start of sixth period.

"Great," Amber said happily. "It's lunch, I'm starving!"

"You and me both," Sara said. The other two nodded in agreement. Hotch left and the girls led the agents to the cafeteria. They passed a kid who had already gotten his lunch and saw that it was Pizza Hut pizza day! They all smiled as they took their places in line.

While waiting, someone came up behind Amber, wrappin his arms around her chest. She squeaked and spun, elbowing him, hard, in the ribs. Then she noticed who it was and covered her mouth, trying to _not_ laugh, and apologize at the same time.

"What the hell, Amber?" he exclaimed with a slight smile playing on his lips. The boy was a bit plump (for lack of better discription), and his shaved head looked rather potato-like. "Over-react much?"

"I'm sorry, Brandon!" Then her expression got slightly angry. "You should know better than to do that!" she scolded.

"Yes, mom." She rolled her eyes. The other girls were all smiling/giggling. Kelly noticed the agents' confused expressions and leaned over.

"He has a huge crush on her, but won't admit it. And we think she should ask him out," she explained under her breath. That made sense. The agents looked at Amber and the boy named Brandon and noticed that she was glaring at Kelly. She caught Kelly's eyes and mouthed 'I heard that!' Kelly grinned evilly.

'You know it's true, Am,' she mothed back. Without thinking, Amber flipped her the bird, earning shocked stairs from all the agents. She smiled sheepishly at them.

"Amber, you are next," Rachel said. A bit suprised, Amber spun around and faced the lunch lady.

"Um, two slices of pizza, please." The lady nodded and put two slices on a small styrofoam plate-think and slid it over to her. "Thanks." The other girls ordered and moved toward the casr register, each grabbing a chocolate milk on the way. The agents all got a single slice and a bottle of water, paid the slightly higher price for adult lunches, and followed the girls to a round table. It was by the stage, and one seat was too close to the wall for anyone to sit at. Mogan decided to sit on the stage and everyone else took a seat at the table. The agents sat on one side, the girls on the other. Everyone was well aware of the stares they were receiving from other students. The awkward silence pressed on them all. Then Amber broke it.

"Do you guys really need to be here?" They all raised their eyebrows at the question. "I mean here. Now. I mean, I understand that you guys are worried that someone wants us dead, but, really, who's gonna try to kill us at school?"

"We're not taking the chance," Morgan said. "I mean, do any of you have after school activities?" All four nodded.

"Track," Kelly said.

"Swimming," Rachel told them.

"Amber and I have play practice," Sara added.

"Really?" JJ asked. "What play?"

"The Wizard of Oz."

"Oh! I used to love that movie," Prentiss told them.

"I read the book when I was three," Reid said. "I had it done in a day... If I were to re-read it today, it would only take about ten minutes."

"So you're some kind of super genius?" Ameber asked.

"Yes," Morgan, JJ, and Prentiss all said together.

"I don't really like the term 'genius.'" He looked like he would have gone on, but Morgan cut him off.

"Man, you just met them. Don't start with the lectures this soon." Spencer blushed a little and looked down at his food.

"Wow. Reminds you of _White and Nerdy_, doesn't it?" Kelly asked. Everyone started laughing. Everyone but Spencer.

"_White and Nerdy_? What's that?" All eyes turned to him.

"You're kidding, right?" Sara asked.

"Unfortunatly, he's not," JJ said.

"OMG, how can you_ not _know _White and Nerdy?_" Kelly said.

"OMG... that stands for Oh my God, right?" The girls nodded, staring at him like he was insane. "So what's _White and Nerdy?_"

"It's a song," Sara said. "Anyone got it on their iPod?" she asked.

"I do," Amber said, pulling out a blue, touch-screen iPod Nano. She unwound it and put one ear bud in. No one had to move since she was already sitting next to Spencer, so she handed the other ear bud to him. A bit reluctant, he put it in his ear and waited. She pressed buttons for a moment, then the music started.

He looked utterly confused as he tried to focus on the song. "This is rap. I... I can't..." Amber sighed.

"Come on," she said, standing up and pulling him with her.

"Where are we going?"

"The media center," she said as they walked toward the teacher on lunch duty.

"Why?"

"If you don't get the song by listening to it, then you should read it." He still looked confused. She had pulled out a pen and piece of paper and they were now stopping in front of the teacher.

"Yes?"

"I need to go to the media center," she told him, holding out the paper and pen.

"Okay, will you be there all period." He paused for just a second before answering.

"Yup." He looked up and noticed Spencer.

"Who's this?"

"Just... just... no one. He's just..." The teacher laughed.

"Not my business." He held the note out to her. Spencer noticed what it said just before she took it.

_Amber Hunter to media center + vistior. -Wenston_

The pair walked out and made their way down a long hall. Soon, they made it to a set of wooden double doors and pushed them open. Inside was a small collection of shelves ladden with books. In the center were two rows of computers. There were ten in each row, plus a few computers scattered around. Amber sat the note on the check-out desk without a word to the librarian and went to the farthest computer from the door.

She threw her bag down and sat down, pulling a chair up for Spencer. He threw his satchle next to her bag and stared at the screen. She went to Google and started typing in the search box.

White and Nerdy _lyrics Weird Al_

A huge list of results came up. She clicked on the first link, bringing up a lyric website. She scrolled down so the whole song was visible. He read it quickly.

"R-O-T-F-L? Is that a word...?" She rolled her eyes.

"No, it's short for 'roll on the floor laughing.'" He nodded, still not really understanding. "You know, for a genius, you're not very smart."

"Not about modern, teen stuff."

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you were never a 'cool kid.'"

"Is it that obvious?" She nodded. "I was a twelve year old prodigy in a Las Vegas public high school, so that's pretty much assumed."

"Twelve?" He nodded. "Damn... wow," she corrected. He rolled his eyes. _What is it with teens and swearing? _he asked himself. "You never had a chance to be a kid." Spencer shrugged.

"Until we became friends with Chelsea, all of us were the nerds of the school. A few friends, but not many. Then we met her and everyone wanted to be out friends. But you know what we did?" He shook his head. "We did the exact same things the did to us, ignored them, made fun of them. And they took it. Just like we used to..."

"You were all really close weren't you?" She nodded.

"She was our best friend. You could tell Chels anything and know it would stay safe with her. She made you feel like you were the coolest person in the universe, could make you smile when you wanted to cry... But she was a bit manipulative. She made people do what she wanted, wether you wanted to or not. But she'd never hurt you. Chels was loyal to her friends, no matter what."

"She sounds like she was a great person."

"She was..." She paused. "Who was your best friend in school." Spencer bit his lip, not sure what to say, then decided that the truth would be best.

"I didn't have any. The smartest person is shcool is often the loneliest."

"I'm sorry. But you seem pretty close to you team." He nodded.

"I am. They're like family."

"That's how I feel about my friends. Sometimes I consider them more like sisters than my own sister. And it's not like I see much family..."

"Why not?"

"My mom works most days, and so does my dad, but when he's home, he's usually drunk off his ass." Spencer tensed up, not liking where this was going. She noticed this. "No, he's not an abusive drunk, he's a stupid drunk." Spencer sighed in relief. The bell rung.

"Ugh, time for Algebra," she said, standing up and grabbing her bag. Spencer did the same and they walked out after she paused to clear the screen. Quickly, they made their way to a small classroom where they met up with the others. Time for Algebra!


	6. After School

Chapter 6: After School

_Comfort zones are most often expanded by discomfort _- Peter McWilliams

Algebra was mostly uneventful. It was true, Spencer _did _look a lot like the math sub. It was kind of weird. He felt kind of bad for Amber when she got called up to do a problem on the board when she didn't even raise her hand. She looked uncomfortable as she reluctantly wrote her answer. Then the teacher made fun of her for getting the problem wrong. She spent the rest of the period with her head down, writing her notes rather sloppyly. All the agents felt bad for her.

Eighth period was gym class for the girls. Kelly was the only one who could run without problem. Again, Amber was the under dog. They ran three laps and she was winded half way through the second one. That day was weight-lifting and she lifted the least in the class. The teacher, Mrs. Beacher, told her (in a carrying tone) she would never get stronger if she didn't try harder, making her face turn bright red. The class was ended by running for five minutes. She ran slowest, more jogging than anything. By the end, her face was splotchy, and she was gasping for breath, swaying slightly. When she got back from the locker room, she collapsed on the floor againt the wall, pulling two mini York Mint Patties from her bag. She noticed them looking quizzicly at her and explained.

"Keeps my blood sugar up." The boy from lunch plopped down next to her and she handed a third one to her.

"Thanks." He was about to open it when she held out a hand.

"That'll be one quarter." He rolled his eyes but dug in his pocket and handed her a quarter. She smiled and put it in her own pocket.

Nineth period (the last one of the day) was where the girls split in half. Kelly and Amber went to Science. Rahcel and Sara went to History. The Science teacher, Mr. Flent, didn't seem to like either one of them. When he came to collect the homework, he hardly paused at the table they shared.

"Didn't do it," they told him together. He rolled his eyes.

"Shocker," he said before moving on. Class started with trade 'n' grade. Under the table, they coppied the answers they gave on lose-leaf paper, slipping it in their folders when he collected it again. Then the lesson started. They hardly listened. The two talked most of the time, Amber only paying enough attention to copy notes. Kelly wrote down what she did. They snickered, hardly in a low tone. It was obvious that everyone heard them, but apparently it was normal. Some of the other students were talking too, or just zoning out, but they weren't even trying to hide it as well as they were. But the teacher just ignored them, like they weren't there. At the end of class, he passed out an assignment, saying that they had to work on it or it was due by the end of class. He walked past their table without laying anything down.

"Yo, Flent, you _forgot _to give us ours," Kelly said. He rolled his eyes but sat two papers down.

"Do you actually intend to do it?"

"Yes... eventually," Amber told him with a smile. He frowned and continued on his way. Dispite what he said about it being due by the end of class if they didn't work, they didn't even pick up their pencils and continued on with their conversation. _A teacher with hollow threats, _Spencer thought. _Just what this generation needs. _

"Amber," Kelly siad. "Do you have your cards?"

"Yeah, but I'm sick of go fish and war. I'd rather play B.S. but that's a two player game."

"We could ask our tails," Kelly suggested. Amber turned around, mouth open to mouth the question, but they were ready for her. They both shook their heads 'no' and mouthed the word 'work.' She rolled her eyes and started talking again.

"Is it just me, or are these teenagers more annoying than normal?" JJ asked Spencer in a whisper. He nodded in agreement. "Thought so."

None too soon, the bell rung. The girls sighed in relief and stood, grabbing their bags from behind them. They were the first ones out the door, the agents right on their tails.

"What was all that about?" JJ asked.

"What was what about?" they asked together.

"Do you even know what the lesson was about?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah," Amber said, "it was about finding acceleration of an object falling. The speed of an item falling with only gravity is 9.8 meters. Anything else?" They opened and closed their mouths, deciding not to say what they were thinking.

"Do you do that all the time?" They nodded. "I'm amazed the teacher hasn't moved you yet."

"Actually, he has," Kelly said. "I'm really supposed to be on the other side of the room, but that only lasts a few days. He doesn't care."

"Cards?"

"Again, he doesn't care," Amber told them. The agents shook their heads and changed the subject.

"How do you two usually get home?"

"I usually walk after play practice," Amber admitted. "That or catch a ride with Sara and her mom."

"My brother and I both have track so he drives me."

"We have vehicles here, so we'll drive you, okay?" The girls nodded. The group continued to the lockers. Kelly and JJ stopped first, about half way down the freshmen hall. On the way to Amber's locker, she stopped to whisper something to Sara. The two giggled and Sara closed her locker door, and the girls (and Prentiss) walked near the end of the hall. Quickly, Amber opened her locker door and threw her textbook and notebook (which had her Science homework and probably Algebra too) in, before shutting again.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yeah," he told her. They started walking back toward the cafateria. "How are you supposed to do your homework if it's in your locker?" She rolled her eyes.

"I have second period study hall."

"Um, what about first period?" Emily asked.

"I have Spanish. I never do that homework. Just write some crap before class starts."

"And the teacher doesn't notice?"

"The old bat Mrs. Occly? No. I'm one of the _good students. _She hardly checks, just sees if I have anything written down."

"And... what's your grade in that class?"

"Last I checked? 100."

"That hardly seems fair," Spencer said. "You get credit for work you don't do."

"I do the work I have to do," she said. "Most of the homework is participation. The stuff she really bothers to grade is in-class. I _do_that. And tests and quizzes."

"Oh... I suppose that's better..." His tone didn't suggest that he thought it was any better. _F'ing nerd, _she thought. By this point, they were in the lunch room, and the girls were throwing their bags on the floor. The agents sat at one of the tables in the back. As the girls made for the stage, a boy stepped in front of Amber. She was about to appologize when she saw who it was.

"So- watch were you're going, asshole!" Conner Jenkins just glared at her.

"What, are you deaf, or just plane dumb?" Sara asked.

"I think it's the latter," Amber said. Still, he stayed were he was and glared.

"What are you even doing here, loser? Stalking us?" Sara asked.

"Why would I want to stalk you bitches?" He asked with venom in his tone. "I'm part of the stage crew. Didn't you already know that?" Amber scoffed at his last question.

"As if, I don't keep tabs on losers, especially perv's like you." He rolled his eyes and stalked away.

"What was that about?" Prentiss asked Reid in a whisper.

"No clue, but whatever's going on between them, it's not good. They told me that he's gotten in trouble multiple times for going into the girls' restrooms and locker rooms. But I think there's a bigger reason why they don't like him..."

"Maybe we can get one of the girls to tell us... I'll call Mogan and JJ and give them the heads-up, but tell them not to bring it up directly." She stood and went into the hall, leaving Spencer to his thoughts. Then play practice started. Both of them were playing a few different Munchkins. Amber had a part where she sang a few lines solo, which invlolved skipping on the edge of the stage. Simple right? Well, apparently not in a long, poofy dress for a costume and people make twenty-three jokes about her being a clutz in half a day (yes, he counted). She lost her footing and fell off the stage. At first, not everyone realized what had happened when she stopped singing and disappeared from sight. The few people who saw laughed. Until she didn't get up. Prentiss (who had come in a few moments after practice started) and Spencer shot a worried look at each other before jumping up and running over to her.

"Amber," he said, kneeling next to her, "are you okay?" Sara ran over. She looked freaked out, not sure what to do. "Amber?" It took her another second to respond.

"Ow. Damn heels! I always said they were death-traps." Sara laughed.

"Yup, she's fine." Well, there was no blood.

"Did you hit your head?" Emily asked.

"I... don't... know..." she said slowly.

"Come on, let's get her to a table," Spencer said, offering her a hand. She stared at it for a moment, apparently not sure what to do. Then she grabbed it. He tried to pull her up, but she wasn't as light as she looked. When she tried to push her legs up under her, they crumpled under her weight, almost bringing Spencer down too. Sara sighed and helped heave her up. With the combined effort, they made it to the nearest table.

The drama teacher hardly paid attention to what had happened. She was busy telling the others to get ready to practice a different scene since the other one was a person short. _This certainly was an interesting day at school_, Spencer thought.


	7. Meeting the Parents

Chapter 7: Meeting the Parents

_Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind_- Dr. Seuss

Play practice lasted until after seven that night. Amber would have gone home, but the drama teacher wouldn't let her, saying that if she wouldn't suck it up and practice, she should at least have to stay and watch. It was obvious that she was about to say something to this, but Spencer held her back when she went to stand, telling her it wasn't worth the trouble. Besides, he wanted her to stay seated. The reason she fell when she tried to stand was that she twisted her ankle. The boy, Brandon, who was also on stage crew, offered to get her chips and a pop when it was a time for a break. It was clear he was head over heels for her.

Finally, it was time to leave. She had hardly touched her Diet Mt. Dew (she said she hated diet, but that's all the school sold), so that went with her. Carefully, she stood, gingerly putting weight on her right foot, wincing as it hurt. Regardless, she started walking toward her bag, but wobbled. Spencer and Emily chuckled as she tried to stay upright, and he finally took pity on her and placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Thanks," she said, face going red. He smiled at her and they walked toward the doors. Again, she almost fell reaching down to grab her bag, so he picked it up for her and slung it over her shoulder, and _damn _was it heavy! _What's she keep in here? _he thought._ Bricks?_

She was about to ask why he was going to carry it, or maybe protest that she was perfectly capable of carrying it herself, but he cut her off. "Just focus on not falling, okay?" Her face turned red again as Sara and Emily started giggling.

"Jackass," she muttered under her breath, thinking he didn't hear, but he let it slide. Slowly, they made it to the vehicle he was driving. He helped her in the passenger's seat and threw her bag in the back.

She soon learned that Spencer Reid was a very slow driver.

"You know," she said, "My ninety-year-old grandmother drives faster than this. If you don't speed up, the cops'll pull you over for driving too slow."

"I don't think they're allowed... besides, it's not illegal to drive _under _the speed limit."

"If you're in a no-pass zone, you'd be holding up traffic." He rolled his eyes, but sped up slightly anyway.

They came to a traffic-light and Amber was looking out the window. She took a sip of her soda, only to start choking at something she thought she saw. Blonde hair... blue eyes. 'Bitch,' she thought they mouthed. Spencer started beating on her back since she was still coughing madly.

"What is it? Are you alright?" His voice was full of concern.

"I saw... thought I saw..." Then she looked back and no one was there. _Great, _she thought, _now I'm seeing things. _If she told Spencer what she thought she saw, he was say she was going insane. No, she wouldn't tell him, it was just her imagination... Right? "Nothing, thought I saw a wasp in here."

"A wasp?" He sounded doubtful.

"Yes. I'm absolutly _terrified _of wasps... and bees... and hornets and-"

"I get it," he said. "You have apiphobia." She stared blankly at him. "Fear of bees... wait, which scares you more? Wasps or bees?"

"Wasps, definately wasps."

"Ah, then it is spheksophobia," he corrected. "Do you know any phobias?"

"A few," she said. "I only remeber the funny ones.*"

"Such as?" he propted.

"."

"The fear of long words," he said. She smiled and nodded. "One I find rather humorous is omphalophobia."

"The fear of belly buttons!" He looked over, amazed she knew that one.  
>"I told you, I remember the funny ones... How about pediophobia?"<p>

"The fear of dolls." She nodded again. They talked back and forth about strange phobias until she pointed out her driveway and he pulled in. She hopped out, landing on one foot, and lightly tried the other out. It didn't hurt much so she figured she was fine to walk without Spencer's help. She grabbed her bag from the back and the two walked to the front door. It was unlocked. And, apparently, they had a dog that no one told him about. It was a black cocker spanial, jumping up, and (odd, considering how small it was) threatend to knock him down.

"Girl, get down. You know better," Amber said as she pulled the dog away. As soon as the dog was releaced, she came back over and started sniffing Spencer's ankles.

"You didn't mention that you had a dog," he said.

"You didn't ask... Is it a problem? You're not, like, alergic, or anything are you?" He shook his head and let her lead him through the hall. The came to a large kitchen where she threw her bag on a chair. She motioned to the desk by the chair. "You can sit your bag down there." A bit reluctantly, he sat it there.

"So, where are your parents?" he asked.

"Probably still at work... Where are _your _parents?" He stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out why she asked, but her face gave no indication.

"My mom's in Las Vegas. I don't know where my dad is, he left when I was a kid."

"I'm sorry... why did he leave?" He was about to answer when she cut him off. "You know what? No my business." There was an awkward silence. "You hungry?"

"Sure, what did you have in mind?"

"That is a good question," she told him, walking over to the refriderator, and pulling it open. She looked at the contents for a moment before pulling out a large Glad container. "How about leftover pork fried rice?"

"Define leftover," he said, uncertain.

"We made it last night."

"Oh. Okay, sounds good." She smiled and pulled two bowls from the overhead cubbord and took a slotted spoon from a drawer. She put two large scoops in each bowl and put one in the microwave, the time being a minute and a half. Three minutes later, they made their way upstairs. He expected a table, but there was only a couch. She walked over to the far side and plopped down. Slowly, Spencer sat on the opposite end. They ate in silence.

About ten minutes later, the door opened and then closed quietly. Amber noticed Spencer tense visibly.

"Chill," she said. "It's just my mom. She got off work at seven-thirty." She looked at her watch. "It's seven forty-five." There was shuffling downstairs and then footsteps coming up. A middle aged woman apeared over the banister, stopping dead when she saw Spencer.

"Who the hell is this, and why is he on my couch? ...Eating my fried rice?" Amber rolled her eyes.

"I'm gonna guess you didn't get a call from Hailey?" Amber asked.

"No, why?"

"This is Dr. Spencer Reid, he works with the FBI."

"And this answers my question how...?"

"The FBI is worried that the person who killed Chels, AJ, and, Katie might come after the rest of us. He's my protective detail." Amber had finished her food and walked over to the banister, setting her bowl on it. She walked rather stiffly, trying not to put much on the ankle she hurt.

"Why are you walking funny?" her mom asked.

"I... I fell off the stage during play practice and twisted my ankle."

"The death trap heels?" Amber nodded. Her mother's attention turned back to the man on the couch. "Sorry about my less-that-warm welcome."

"It's fine," he assured her.

"So how long will you be here?"

"Until we catch the UnSub." Blank stare... "Unidentified subject." After that, they started talking about his job with the FBI, and it was pretty intersting. They talked till it was late. Since it was Friday, Amber didn't have a bedtime. Even after her mother went to bed, Amber drilled him with question after question until he finally told her that he needed to go to sleep.

CM

The next morning, Amber's father came home. He was less welcoming than her mother had been, but decided that if it was to protect his daughter, he didn't care. Though he _did _hint at what would happen if Spencer hurt her, to with she complained loudly, clearly embarrassed. _Gotta love families, _he thought.

A/N: I am sorry if I mention a phobia that I call funny and anyone reading this actually _has _that phobia. I'm not trying to be mean or rude. -A


	8. Fast Food

Chapter 8: Fast Food

_All serious conversataions gravitate toward philosophy - _Ernest Dimnet

Around eleven-thirty, Amber came into the living room dressed in shorts and a tank top. Her hair was pulled into her usual ponytail. Apparently, this was usual no matter where she was, or when it was. Spencer didn't have time to say anything, however, becuase he'd been talking to her sister, who stopped over to talk to their mother. Amber glared at her, arms over her chest.

"Thanks for calling mom," she said. Hailey stared blankly back.

"About what." Amber just gave her a look that said 'are you really that stupid?' Realization lit her face.

"I didn't know you wanted me to."

You didn't think she'd want to know a strange man would be staying in her house, following her youngest daughter around whenever she left the house?"

"If you wanted me to call, you should have told me," Hailey said like it was all Amber's fault.

"You're twenty-two! You're an adult. I, a fifteen year old girl, shouldn't have to tell you what any person with half a brain would do without thinking!" Hailey blanched at what had been said to her. Honestly, they both looked on the edge of exploding at each other, so Spencer stepped in.

"It doesn't matter. You're mother didn't kill me, no harm done." They still glared at each other for a moment, but Amber rolled her eyes and looked away.

"Come on, Dr. Reid," she said, heading toward the stairs.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"I'm hungry, figured we could go out for burgers, my treat."

"You don't have to..."

"And you shouldn't have to stay her and make sure no psyco is gonna murder me," she said, cutting across his refusal. "It's just McDonalds."

"Okay," he accepted after a moment. She smiled and continued down the stairs.

"Bring me back some chicken nuggets?" Hailey asked.

"Are you going to pay for them?" Amber replied.

"I thought you said it was your treat!"

"Yeah, to the FBI agent who I'm not stuck with for the rest of my life. You want chicken nuggets, you're paying for them!"

"Fine, there's a five in my purse. Just get me a five piece."

"Kay-kay!" she exclaimed, pulling a five from a small, beaded bag on the counter. With that, they left, getting in the vehicle Spencer was driving for the case.

"Which way to the McDonalds?" She gave him the directions and they drove on in silence. A few minutes later, they were pulling into the already crowded parking lot.

It took a few minutes, but eventually, they got their food and sat down at a two-person table in the back.

"Told you no one would ask who you were," she said before biting into a double cheeseburger. Spencer smiled and opened the box holding his meal, a Big Mac. "You know, I wouldn't have pegged you as a Big Mac kind of guy," she said thoughtfully.

"Why not?" She shrugged. The ate in silence, Amber occasionally stealing french fries from his tray. He looked at he, trying to figure out why she was doing that.

"What?" she asked between bites.

"You're stealing my fries."

"Sorry," she said, taking another. "Force of habit." With a small smile, the young agent rolled his eyes.

"You seem to have a lot of those," he commented.

"What d'you mean?"

"Well, you bite you lip a lot, sort of like you're 'chewing things over,' so to speak." She smiled at the lame pun. "You also bite your nails," he pointed out, nodding to the nails that were chewed right down to the quick. "It keeps you distracted... You know, the whole time I've met you, you never stop moving." She looked at him, confused.

"I mean, you're always doing something with your hands, or you're tapping your foot, or bouncing your leg. It's sort of like a nervous habit. You don't even seem to realize you're doing it half the time. Like now," he added, motioning under the table. Sure enough, her right leg was rapidly bouncing up and down.

"I'm not a very patient person," she told him. "I get bored and distracted easily. The nervous habits, as you called it, sort of gives my mind something to focus on without really needing to focus."

"That's interesting. You know, slight actions like that, things that would go unnoticed by most people, actually help when profiling a suspect durring interrogation."

"Really?" He nodded.

"Yeah, did you know that if a person is looking down and to the left when they answer a question, they're most likely lying?"

"That's weird..." They were about finished with their food when Spencer's phone rang.

"Reid," he said into the reciver.

"Hey, Reid, it's Hotch. Is Amber with you?" he heard through the speaker.

"Yes, she is."

"Good. Anyway, we need you to come to the police station to help with the profile. Rossi and I can't do it alone."

"Are the others coming too?"

"Yes."

"What about the girls?"

"Bring her with out."

"Okay, we'll be there in a few minutes," he said before hanging up.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"Well, I need to go in to the police station to help with the profile, and you're coming with me," he told her, standing up. She looked like she'd say something, but insted shrugged and followed him out to the car. _Some Saturday, _she thought slightly bitterly.


	9. Opening Up

A/N: Okay, the story is coming closer and closer to the climax. Yay! I hope you're enjoying it. I know I am! I'll warn you, the language in this chapter is a bit meaner that the usual, mainly in the flashback. One of the characters even drops an F bomb. Don't like, don't read. The flashback isn't relevant to the story, really. Just thought I'd give you a head's up. Hope you like it. -A

Chapter 9: Opening Up

_I believe one of the hardest things you can do is conqure your fears, but if you have a goal, then it's your job to open up and let it be real no matter how scary it seems_- Author Unknown

When Spencer and Amber arrived at the police station, she was delighted to see that her friends were already there. Without waiting to be told, she ran up to them and plopped down on the fourth chair on the talble.

"Hey, guys," she greeted, smiling warmly. They smiled back.

"Hey."

"How was your guys' protective detail?"

"Not bad," Sara said. "My dad had a wasn't too happy." They all cringed. None of the girls liked Sara's dad, he was a complete ass.

"What happened?" she asked.

_-Flashback-_

_Sara walked in her house, Agent Prentiss right behind. Sara led her slowly through the house. When they reached the kitchen, they saw Sara's rather porky father, rummaging through the fridge. He didn't even know there were other's in the room until he hear the dull_

_thud! of Sara's bag on the tile floor. He straightened up and spun around._

_Immediatly, his eyes travled to Emily. "Who the hell are you?" he asked rudely, strutting over like he was some superior being that deserved complete and total respect. Sara rolled her eyes. Trying to be polite, Emily smiled and held out a hand._

_"My name is Agent Emily Prentiss, I work with the FBI."_

_"You're the agent my wife was telling me about," he said gruffly. "If it were up to me, you wouldn't even be here." He didn't even try to keep his tone low._

_"Well, we're afraid that the person who killed your daughter's friends may come after her too. I'm just here to keep her safe until we catch him," she said, sounding slightly uncomfortable. He scoffed at her words._

_"It's my kid's own damn fault if she has some psyco trying to kill her. Maybe it'll teach her to keep her fat ass out of other people's business!" Emily blanched, not entirely sure how to respond._

_"That's no way to talk about your daughter, Mr. Shiply."_

_"Don't tell me how I can and can't talk about my damn kid! It's my house, I'll say whatever the fuck I want!" With that, he stormed away. Emily's eyes were wide, shock at his words freezing her._

_"You can understand why I don't like my family," Sara told her, making her nod as she slowly regained herself._

_-End Flashback-_

"Well," Kelly said after Sara finished her story, "at least he didn't call Agent Prentiss a whore. Remember the last time Chels went over..." They all cringed at the memory.

"What about you, Kelly? How was life with Agent Jareau in your house?" She shrugged.

"No different than normal really. Except Kevin whistled when he first saw her and said 'hello, hot mama!'" The girls giggled. That did sound like something her older brother would say. He said it to Chels enough times...

"And Rach? What was it like with Agnet Morgan?" She smiled.

"My mom thinks he is hot. And he got a phone call from someone named Penelope Garcia, and the conversation was a little inappropriot. Kind of disterbing, actually..." Again, they giggled.

"And what was life like with King Dork?" Kelly asked.

"He's really nice. And, I swear, he knows everything. Like, legit, everything! If you understand half of what he's babbling on about, he's actually pretty interesting to talk to." Converstion went on for a while about the agents, until they ran out of things to say. There was an awkward silence, which was broken by Amber.

"Guys," she said, leaning in and dropping her voice to a low whisper, "I think we should tell..."

"Tell what?" Rachel asked in the same low whisper.

"What we know about... _him." _They all stared, wide-eyed, open-mouthed at what she said.

"What?" Kelly exclaimed, slightly too loudly, but she dropped her voice when she spoke agian. "_You _were the one who said we didn't know enough about that night to know for sure it even was _him._"

"I know what I said, but I've been thinking. Who else could have done it? Seriously, he _met _with her the night before she was reported missing for God's sake!"

"So did we!" Rachel pointed out. Amber gave her an incredulous look.

"Together. I think one of us would have noticed another stabbing her to death."

"There was a few hours between her meeting with us and her meeting with _him._" Sara said. "We don't even know if they even talked. He was never questioned, so he may have had nothing to do with it."

"If he had not part in any of this, I'll eat Dr. Reid's man purse," Amber scoffed. They giggled a bit at that, but sobered up instantly.

"Am, if we tell what we know about him, _he'll _tell them what he knows about _us!_" Kelly said. "We'll get in almost as much trouble as him."

"Not if we 'fes up," she said. The stared at her like she was completely insane now. "What we did, that was an accident... well the worst of it was, anyway. His was sick and twisted and... he _deserves_ jail, wether he killed them or not. We'll never _un-see_ what he had on that!"

"Sick as it was, we'll still get in trouble!"

"And if he killed them?" No one said anything. "We won't get in _near_ as much trouble if we confess." The looked like that was the last thing they wanted to do. Amber swallowed. "Fine. _I_ want this over. I'll tell the truth. Chels and I convinced you to go in with us. It was all on us. You were just covering for us 'cause you're amazing friends." With that, she stood.

"_Don't do this!_" Sara begged. "We don't want _you_ to get in trouble either!"

"I don't care what they do to _me!_ I want this over! I want justice for Chels and AJ and Katie!" Without another word, she marched over to the agents who were working with the police.

"Yes?" Agnet Hotchner said, raising an eyebrow. Her stomach was suddenly full of butterflies, but she had to do this. If she didn't, she'd never fogive herself. _I have to do this for Chels, AJ, and Katie! I have to do this because it's the right thing to do! _

"I-I need to tell you something... I think I know who killed the others..."


	10. The Truth At Last

Chapter 10: The Truth At Last

_Three things cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth_- Buddha

All the agnets and police officers stared at her for a moment, processing what she said. Then she was ushered into a small room with a little, round table and two chairs. She was nervous as shit, but she kept her head high. She knew in her heart she was doing the right thing. Agent Hotchner motioned for her to sit in one chair, and he sat across from her. She kind of wished that it had been Spencer. Hotch never smiled, just glared ahead, kind of brooding. It unnerved her even more, but she didn't show it... rather, she didn't _think _she was showing it. The other agents filed in, along with the police cheif.

"Okay, please tell us what you know," Agent Hotchner said in a suprisingly gentle tone. Spencer gave her a reassuring smile and she took a deep breath before relating her tale.

"Before I start, I have to tell you. Me and my friends... well, mainly me and Chelsea, did some pretty bad stuff. It's the only reason we didn't say anything sooner."

"What stuff?" he asked.

"Well, it's part of the story." Agent Hotchner nodded and she began. "This was two weeks before Chels was reported missing. We snuck out past midnight one Saturday. Like normal, we met in the park, the one Chels would later be found in." The agents listened in bated breath, showing no emotion. "We decided to walk around the neighborhood. After a while, we came to a house with a small barn in the back. The light in the barn was on and we wondered who'd be in there that late at night. Quietly, we snuck over and peeked through the window. It was the last person we thought we'd see.

"Conner Jenkins. He was at a work bench, and he had a laptop. He didn't notice us, even though he was facing us. The creep was too absorbed in what he was doing on the computer. He had this weird look on his face, like he was high or something. Then a dog barked and snapped him out of it. He looked at a wrist watch and closed the computer. We ducked in a bush so he wouldn't see us. Chelsea and I convinced the others to go in because we wanted to see what he was looking at. They didn't want to, but eventually, we got them to." She looked sort of ashamed of what she drug the others into.

"We didn't want to stay in there, so we grabbed the computer. We were going to bring it right back, as soon as we knew what was making look like he was getting high... and Andria was a smoker. She had a ciggarett (?) when we went in, and dropped it before we left. There were ciggarett butts on the floor already, so she figured it would go unnoticed. But she didn't put it out, her foot missed... we think."

"Think?" Agent Hotchner asked.

"We didn't hang around long, so we don't know it that is really what happened, but it is the most likely solution. We didn't know till the next moring that the barn had burnt down. We were going to take the computer to the police because of what we saw on it-"

"What was on it?" he asked.

"Little... kids..." he voice cracked and she began to sob a bit, looking down at the table. "It was so... _sick!_" All the adults' jaws clenched as they realized what she was talking about. Everyone felt bad about what they must have seen. "We will never un-see that..." Tears were now streaming down her cheeks.

"But the pervert came over to us when we got there and said that he knew it was our fault that the barn caught on fire. We didn't believe him until he showed us a hair ribbon that Chels always wore. He said that he found it in the bushes. Plus, we had the laptop. We told him that we saw what he had on there and that we were going to give it to the police. But then he said that he'd tell them that we burnt down the barn if we said anything. We got scared so we didn't say anything and he took the laptop back." She looked really ashamed and guilty now. They didn't blame the girls, not really. They were just kids.

"But the guilt was eating us alive. We were about to break, and Conner's threat still hung over our heads. One night, the night before she went missing, Chels agreed to meet him in the park. She was going to tell him that she would tell on him, wether or not he told on us. We tried to talk her out of it, afraid that we'd get in trouble, and we found her a few hours before she agreed to meet with him. We fought, and everyone said things that..." he voice cracked. "Things that we regret and now we can never take back..." She was on the edge of breaking down, crying heavily.

"Go on," Agent Hotchner prompted. She nodded and took a shaky breath.

"She stormed off and we all went home. I tried to follow her, doubling back a few minutes later, but I couldn't find her. Then the next day she was reported missing. With every body found, we wanted to tell, but we'd see Conner before we could puck up the courage. The guilt was eating me alive and... and..." And that's as far as she got because she was now in full-out breakdown mode. The women went over and rubbed her back soothingly. Hotch stood and walked over to the police cheif.

"Go pick up Conner Jenkins. I want to see what he has to say about all of this."


	11. The Interrogation

Chapter 11: The Interrogation

_Sometimes questions are more important than answers_- Nancy Willard

A few moments after the police officers were sent to pick up Conner Jenkins, the other girls were led into the room where Amber was still crying. They ran over to her, telling her that everything was fine, that they would be okay. Eventually, her crying eased up.

"Agent Hotchner?" Sara said.

"Yes?"

"We're sorry we didn't say anything sooner. We were just so scared..."

"It's alright," he assured her.

"Are we going to get in trouble for the accident..." Rachel asked.

"From what Amber told us, it wasn't your fault. It was an accident."

"What about stealing the laptop?"

"Well... that I'm not sure about. It depends on if charges are pressed..." This worried them.

"But if we find any evidence on the computer... about anything, then you most likely not." Sara nodded slightly.

"JJ," Hotch whispered, "call these girls' parents, please." She nodded and walked out. "Morgan, I want you to do the interview." The girls were so lost in LaLa Land that they didn't notice the conversation.

"I can do that... Does anybody know anything about this kid, other than what she told us?"

"Yes," Spencer said. _Of course, _Morgan thought. "He's in the same grade as them. He works as an office aid at the school and he is on stage crew, which ultimatly gives him a few hours after school to watch Amber and Sara. Being in the office would give him access to their sceduals and grades. If he's been watching them to make sure that they didn't tell what they found or make sure they didn't find out what, if anything, he know about the murders. It would also be convient if he needed to avoid them. A basic knowledge of the school's layout would paired with a complete scedual would be enough to learn their daily pattern, and he would know where not to go if they were getting close to learning anything."

"Spencer," Morgan said before the young agent could squeeze in another word, "do me a favor and shut up." Reid smiled rather sheepishly, biting his lip (like that was needed so he wouldn't start blurting out any more useless information). The officer came back in.

"Agents, the boy and his father are here." Hotch nodded and gestured for Morgan to head to the interrogation room. He was determined to find something from this kid.

As soon as Morgan entered the room, the boy's father sprung up.

"What the hell is going on here? Why is my boy under arrest? What are the charges, for God's sake?"

"Calm down, sir. I'll explain everything. My name is Agent Morgan, I work with the FBI-"

"I don't give a damn who you are! I want to know why we're here."

"I'm sure you're aware of the recent murders?" Morgan asked. Mr. Jenkins nodded hesitantly. "After talking to friends of the vicims, we believe that your son my be involved-"

"Are you saying that you think _Conner _hurt those girls?"

"We don't know. We're still investigating."

"What evidence points to my son?" Morgan opened his mouth to reply when Conner spoke.

"They told?" he shouted. "Do you know what those bitches did? They set the barn on fire!" Mr. Jenkins blanched.

"Yes," Morgan said. "We are aware of that. They confessed to what happened that night, along with what they saw on your laptop."

"Are you saying that those girls burnt down my barn and stole my son's laptop?" Mr. Jenkins asked.

"The fire was an accident, they didn't know about it until the next day. They intended to return the computer, which they did. I'm going to guess that there were police on scene after the fire?" Mr. Jenkins nodded. "They returned the computer while the police were still there, I assume?" Conner nodded. "You could have told the police, pressed charges, but you didn't. It's too late now."

"Why didn't you press charges?" Mr. Jenkins asked his son, who refused to open his mouth to answer. Morgan did it for him.

"Because he was afraid of what the police would find if they searched it."

"And what would they have found?"

"The girls told us that there were a number of pornographic images-"

"Well, as inapropriot as that is, it's hardly illegal."

"You didn't let me finish. They said that there were pornographic images of minors." Mr. Jenkins stared, seemingly unable of speech. "We would like permision to search your home, as well as the computer."

"Of course... as soon as you show me a search warrent." Internally, Morgan swore. They couldn't make it easy, could they? "If that's all..."

"That most certainly is not all. The girls told us that the night before the first victim was reported missing, she was supposed to meet Conner to talk about the deal they made."

"What deal?"

"That he wouldn't tell the police that they started the fire and they wouldn't tell what they saw on the computer. The first victim was feeling guilty about not telling and confessing to what they did, and was going to tell him the deal was off." Mr. Jenkins didn't have anything to say. Morgan cast his attention to Conner. "Care to tell me what happened?" Nothing. "Come on, kid. Say _something_."

"I want a lawyer." Morgan smiled.

"What innocent person doesn't?" he asked before standing up and walking out. 


	12. Shocked

Chapter 12: Shocked

_It is an endless procession of surprises. The expected rarely occurs and never in the expected manner_- Vernon A. Walters

Spencer was sitting on the room with the girls. Their parents didn't answer phones, and the girls told Spencer about their jobs. Then there was silence. They were jumpy and paranoid. Amber looked on the edge of another breakdown.

"Why don't we go get some fresh air outside?" he asked. A bit timid, they nodded and followd him out. He told them to wait for a second while he told Hotch where they were going. After a moment, he came back and led them to the door.

Outside, they relaxed slightly. Amber couldn't help but asking.

"Did he admit to it?" Spencer didn't have to ask her to be more specific.

"No, he lawyer-ed up. We're getting a search warrent for the house and computer."

"Are we going to get in trouble?" Sara asked.

"Most likely not." They nodded. 'Most likely' didn't mean no. There was a chance they could get in trouble.

"I'm just glad this is over," Rachel said. The others mumbled their agreements. Spcencer didn't bother pointing out that Conner Jenkins might not have done it. He was the most probable suspect, and Amber's confession pointed the evidence to him, but he never said that Chelsea did or did not see him that night.

"Hey, Pretty Boy," he heard a familiar voice say from behind him. He spun to see Mogan, Prentiss, and JJ walking towards them. "Hotch wants us to take the girls home." He nodded and all the girls walked with them to the vehicles. They said their good-byes and got in the vehicles with their assigned agents.

The ride was silent and only took around ten minutes. As soon as she was home, she ran up to her room and all but slammed the door behind her. After changing into her pajamas, she plopped down on her window seat and stared out the window.

She didn't know how long she stayed there. The light outside changed again and again, but she hardly blinked. After a few hours, there was a knock on her door. Her head snapped toward it

"Sis?" she heard. It was Hailey. "You hungry?"

"No, thanks. Go away." There was a sigh, but footsteps retreated from the door. When she returned to her orginal position. Then she saw it. The blonde hair and blue eyes made a lump rise in her throat. A smile flashed up to her. Amber's mouth was hanging open, unable to form thought or speech. With a wink, she started walking away, but she dropped a piece of paper on the sidewalk. Amber watched till she was out of sight, then her eyes darted to the paper. She had to get it... She jumped up and ran into the other room, seeing Spencer and Hailey talking on the couch.

"Hailey, did you get the mail today?"

"No... why?" Amber shrugged. "And I never got my chicken nuggets!"

"Yeah, we ate them at the police station." Hailey was about to say something. "I'll give you a five later." With that she ran downstairs and out the door. She darted over to the paper and snatched it up, then hastily grabbed the mail. She threw the mail on the counter inside, dully noting that that the clock said it was almost nine, and ran up to her room, not answering when Hailey asked what that was about. Sitting back down on her window seat, she uncrupled the paper.

_You're a liar. Conner didn't do it, but I know who did. Remeber the fight you had? Go back there tonight and see if you can find anything._

Everything about this note said 'trap' but Amber didn't care, she had to know who killed Chels, AJ, and Katie. They all did.

CM

That night, Spencer was up past midnight, headed to the upstairs bathroom. He was being quiet, trying not to wake Amber, when he saw that her light was on. There was a light ringing. A phone. Unable to squash his curiosity, he pressed an ear to the door to listen.

"Hey, Sara, thanks for calling. I didn't want to tell you this over text messages... Yes it's important." There was a pause. "No everyone else is asleep... He's in the guest room." Another longer pause. "Because I would have heard his door open and close if he came out... I'm _aboslutely_ sure he's not outside my door. That's rediculous!" _Oh, the irony, _Spencer thought.

"We need to meet. Right now... Yes, I'm sure we can get out. It's after midnight, they're all probably asleep... I know it's their job... come on, we sneak out all the time... Who cares if their FBI agents, they're still human. Humans sleep." There was a longer pause.

"I don't really know... Yes, I know... I realize this." _This converstaion is really confusing when you only get one side of it, _he thought vaguely. "I know, it's a risk. But if the note... Right, I didn't tell you about that. I... found a note. I don't know who it's from, but it said that Conner didn't do it." This suprised Spencer. "Well, he never said if he saw her or not, there was a few hours between us talking to her and when they were supposed to talk. Plus, there's nothing connecting him to the other murders." Long pause.

"I know it might be a trap, but if it helps find out who killed them..." Another pause, followed by a sigh. "You don't think I thought of that already?" This was really getting hard for Spencer to follow. "Look, you don't have to come, _they _don't have to come. I'll go alone if I have to, but I need to know!... Really, we could get in so much trouble if anyone finds out... or worse..." There was yet another long break.

"Thanks, Sara, your the best! I'll text an S.O.S to the others and were we're going to meet... That's right, you need to know too... I'll just text it to you too... Yeah, see ya in a bit." With that, Amber hung up. There was no noise for a moment, and he assumed she was sending the texts.

He should stop her. Go in and tell her she was busted then call the others to stop them... but he wondered what was going on. Surely they'd never tell any of the agents if they knew they were busted. The only way they'd find out was if the girl's went and reported what they learned. But if it was a trap... Spencer shuddered at the thought.

What if he went with Amber? No, she'd never take him, she'd tell the others not to go. But what if she didn't know he was there... He could secretly follow her, find out what they knew, then show himself. Take them to their homes... yes that would work. That seemed like the best idea, maybe not the most lodgical solution, but still...

Spencer had fallen asleep in his clothes so he wouldn't have to worry about that... He could just follow without tipping her off and everything would be fine. He wondered what Hotch would say if he knew... Again, he suddered at the thought. He would get in trouble... Maybe he said that he followed because heard Amber leaveing and didn't want to alarm her by stopping her right away, plus wanting to know why she was crazy enough to pull a stunt like that. He wasn't a particulary good liar, but it was half true, he could pull it off.

His internal debat had lasted about three seconds. He heard suffling inside the room and figured she was getting dressed. A moment later, footsteps neared the door, and Spencer ducked around a corner to avoid detection. He followed silently through the house. She grabbed a flashlight from the kitchen, along with peper spray. He had to admit, that was pretty smart. She walked out the back, sliding glass door, leaveing it open, but the screen closed. It wasn't safe if someone wanted to break in, but she'd be able to get in again.

Once in the dark, he had to be careful. If he got too close, she'd know she was being followed. If he got too far away, he'd lose her in the night. So he stayed at a distance where he could see her shadow (she was avoiding streetlights) etched against the black of night. They walked for about ten minutes before she stopped in a clearing in the wooded part of the park. There were already two shadows there. Walking carefully, he ducked behind a tree so he could hear and see without being seen. His slow pace made it so the first part of the question Amber asked was cut off, but he got the gist.

"... Not here is Sara?" Her voice was a light whisper preturding into the silent night.

"Yeah..." It was silent once more for a moment before light foot steps walked toward them from somewhere opposite of him.

"Hey," someone whispered, someone he recognized as Sara. "Did I miss anything?"

"No." Rachel told her. "Amber, what is this about?"

"You guys are going to think I'm crazy," she told them.

"That's never stopped you before," Kelly said. He could invision Amber rolling her eyes.

"I-I saw Chelsea." There was a silence, thickened by the night. Spencer couldn't believe his ears.

"You _are _crazy," Sara said, slightly too loud.

"No, I'm not!" She dug in her pocket. "She dropped this." They took the paper and read it.

"Th-this is... this is Chelsea's handwriting!" Kelly exclaimed, entirely too loud. The other's _shush_ed her. Spencer was unable to form thoughts at this point.

"I realize this."

"But it is impossible," Rachel mumbled. "We saw her body at the funeral. She is dead." There was a silence again, but it was broken by a _whoosh! _overhead. There was a dull _thud! _as something hit the ground in the middle of the group. They screamed. Amber pulled out her flashlight and pointed it at the object. They all (Spencer included) gasped at what it was. In front of them sat a long, surrated knife, coated in dried blood.

There was a rustling behind Spencer and, automaticly, he drew his gun from it's holster, aiming it in the trees behind him. A shot rang out, but not from his gun. The girls screamed again as pain seared through his right bicep. One hand flew to the wound, feeling warm blood gush out.

Acting on instinct, he put his pain aside and ran into the clearing with the girls.

"Dr. Reid?" they exclaimed together. Amber's flashlight blinded him. Their eyes travled to his blood-soaked arm and they gasped.

"You're hurt!" Amber said.

"I'm fine. We have to get out of here." Another shot rang out and hit the tree he'd been hiding behind. "Run!" They took his order, running away from where the bullet had come from. He spun around, gun pointed back at the trees. There was a shadow. He aimed at it, unsure who it was of if they were going to attack. Somewhere behind him, someone screamed.

"Spencer!" they cried. It was Amber. He spun to find her. Someone had knocked her down and was pulling her by her hair away from him. Her ankle caught around a small tree in an attept to get way, but there was a sickening _crack! _as the bone snapped. She screamed and he raced forward, gun trained on her attacker. He kicked her on the head, hard. That succesfully knocked her unconsious.

"Let go of the girl," he warned in a suprisingly firm and threatening tone, but the person just laughted. He was about to repeat his warning, adding that if he didn't, Spencer would shoot, but there was a sharp pain on the back of his head. Then another and another. After the third stirke, Spencer fell to his knees. A fourth strike knocked him unconsious. His last thought before the crushing black surrounded him was this: _I failed. She's going to die and it's all my fault. _


	13. Missing

A/N: Okay, this is a bit of an emotional chapter. Garcia enters the story in this chapter, but she may be quite OOC. That's intentional. And we learn a bit about our friend Conner Jenkins. Oh, and I got an anonymous PM from someone saying that this reminds them of _Pretty Little Liars_, and I do love the series, but it is unintentional. If you think that, feel free to let me know, but only with the TV series. I just finished _Flawless_ in the books and it is extremely hard to find any more books in the series that aren't _Wanted._ I don't own anything but my OC's. Hope you're liking the story. -A (and yes, I did get the idea to do the '-A' from the PLL series!)

Chapter 13: Missing

_Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There is no courage unless you're scared_- Eddie Rickenbacker

Hotch needed his team to help finish the case. They had gotten the search warrent first thing that morning and Garcia was flying out. He had Rossi call the others while he watched the suspect. It was hard to believe that the kid wasn't scared. He seemed more annoyed than anything. His father on the other hand was freaking out. It was unusual...

Rossi came back in. "I got ahold of Morgan, Prentiss, and JJ, but I couldn't get ahold of Reid." Hotch's head snapped up.

"Did you call the family?" Dave nodded.

"The parents were already at work, but the oldest daughter told me that when she woke up at ten, they were already gone." This worried Hotch.

"Where do you think they are?"

"I don't know. Yesterday, the Miss Hunter had some McDonalds food, so maybe they went out to get breakfast?" Hotch shook his head.

"Reid would have picked up his phone."

"It went straigt to voice mail when I called." This worried him more. That's when Morgan walked in. He looked tired.

"What's wrong?" Hotch asked.

"Oh, the kids snuck out last night. Kid woke the whole house up, looked scared out of her mind, but wouldn't say what happened." He shook his head. Hotch and Rossi shot each other a worried look. "What?" They didn't reply, just ran back into the main room and looked for the girls. Three of them sat, not talking to each other, identical looks of worry painted on their faces. Hotch ran up to them.

"When you snuck out last night, did you see Amber or Dr. Reid?" he asked urgantly. They looked shocked and guilty at the same time. "Answer the question!" he snapped.

"Hotch," JJ said, alarmed. "What's going on." He didn't answer, just stared at the girls. Sara broke the tense silence.

"Yes. She told us to meet in the park."

"What happened?"

"She gave us a note that was written in Chelsea's hand writting," she told him, handing him a crumpled piece of paper. "She told us that she had seen Chelsea." All agents were alarmed at this point. They had all read the note too. "Then a bloody knife fell from above us and there was a gun shot. Dr. Reid came out from behind a tree and his arm was bleeding." There was a colective intake of breath from the agents.

"He told us to get out of there and there was another shot. We ran, and he turned and pointed the gun at the trees. That's the last I saw." The other girls nodded. "I heard Amber scream and yell 'Spencer' but I thought she was just telling him to run. I ran home." Again, they all nodded, telling them that that's what they thought too, and they went home.

"Can you take us to where you were last night?" Sara nodded and they all three stood. The agents led them out and into one of the vehicles. Sara sat behind Hotch, giving him directions as he sped along. When they went as far as they could by car, they ran with Sara in the lead.

What they saw in the clearing was not pretty. There was a lot more blood than anybody was comfortable with. Much more than could come from a bullet hitting you in the arm. A knife that, thankfully, had no blood on it was staked into a tree, holding a note in place. Hotch, using a cloth so he wouldn't get fingerprints on it, pulled the knife out and grabbed the note. He read it and it made him feel sick.

_I was aiming for a bitch, but a fed took the shot. Now you get to find two bodies... When I'm done with them, that it. Have fun, Agent Hotchner. Don't worry, I'll make sure he's recognizable for his poor, sick mommy._

Morgan took it from him, gloves on his hands by this point, and read it before putting it in an evidence bag. Then he put a hand on Hotch's shoulder.

"Hotch, we'll find him. We'll get this sick son of a bitch." Hotch didn't respond. "Spencer's stronger than we give him credit for, and he'll do anything so that girl doesn't get hurt. You know that." Hotch gave him a stiff nod.

"I'm just worried about what'll happen when we _do _get him back. Remember the after math of Tobias Hankle?" Morgan cringed.

"Yeah, but this time, he won't suffer alone. I regret not saying anything last time. He trying to tread water, but was starting to drown. That won't happen again. He'll know that we're _all _gonna be there for him when he can't keep his head above the surface." Hotch nodded.

"You're right. It won't happen again."

CM

They got back to the police station to find Garcia already prowling through the computer.

"Hey, Baby Girl," Morgan said, sitting next to her. "Find anything?"

"Not yet, but I just got started." There was a pause. "Is it true that Reid..." She bit her lip, unable to finish. Morgan nodded somberly. "Oh. My poor, sweet Boy Wonder. Why does it seem like the world is out to get him?"

"I don't know."

"I mean, can't the kid ever catch a break?"

"He's had a hard life," Morgan agreed.

"Do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"When you find this son of a bitch, nail his ass to the wall." With that, she turned back to the computer, a new fire in her eyes as determination set in. He smiled and stood up, walking over to Hotch.

CM

When he woke up, his head hurt like hell. So did his arm. So did his entire body, for that matter. With a small groan, he pushed himself up, ignoring the stabs of pain in his... _everwhere_. When he opened his eyes, his head started thobbing painfully agains the skull. He was on a small cot with a tattered blanket and worn-out pillow. The room was dull and very small. About a foot and a half to his right was another small cot, this one harboring Amber.

Memories from the night before poured into his head. The girls sneaking out, him following them, the knife, the gunshot wound (when he remembered that, he noticed that his arm was now poorly bandaged), the girls running and screaming, Amber's attcker (no, he didn't see who it was), and being beaten in the back of the head four times (that explained the bitch of a headache he had).

Then Amber stirred. Slowly she sat up too. "Where am I, and why do I feel like I got hit by a truck?" Slowly, her eyes found Spencer. "Why do you _look _like you got hit by a truck?" He opened his mouth to tell her when the door he hadn't noticed before (yeah, some super genius he was proving to be) opened. It was a bit dark, so at first the person who entered was a shadow. A very small shadow. As it stepped into the dim light, he saw the UnSub for the first time. Chelsea Dumant stood in front of them, grinning at them like this happened everyday. 


	14. Pieces of the Puzzle

Chapter 14: Pieces of the Puzzle

_The possesion of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery_- Anais Nin

Spencer's head was spinning. Chelsea was dead. Everything that Amber had said about seeing her could easily be explained. Seeing her could have been a trick of the mind. It was common when dealing with loss. Like maybe seeing someone that looked like the lost one, and thinking it truely was them. The note was even easier than that. Any competant forger with limited access to something she wrote could fake the note. If given a handwritten essey or such, Spencer himself could most likely pull it off.

But this was no trick. Spencer didn't know this girl. He'd only seen pictures. He wouldn't be imagining seeing her. And by the look on Amber's face, he wasn't the only one who saw her. Maybe if he were back on drugs, he might be seeing this, but Amber most certainly wouldn't be. This could not be explained away. This was Chelsea Dumant. Completely alive.

She giggled a little. "My, my. I've rendered the notoriously chatty Dr. Spencer Reid speechless." He was alarmed to learn that she knew who he was. "Suprised? Don't be. I always have been resourcful. I know a lot about you."

"Like what?" Amber asked, unthawing a little. Chelsea's smile grew, if that was possible.

"Like his mommy in Las Vegas had paranoid schizophrenia. Like his father left when he was ten, leaving him to deal with his mother. Like he graduated high school at age twelve and has three doctuates, working on a fouth. Like he joined the FBI's BAU at age twenty-three. And was kidnapped once, killed his captor, but was left with a drug addiction. You've been clean for over a year, though, but temptaion can be a bitch." The way she said this worried him, almost as much as everything she knew did.

"How do you know that?"

"Like I said, I'm very resourcful."

"How are you not dead, Chels?" Amber asked, her voice cracking.

"Maybe this will shead some light on the subject," she told them, throwing a small, pink book on the end of Amber's cot. With a last smile, she flipped her hair and walked out, closing the door behind her. There was a soft _click! _as the door was locked.

Amber was staring at the book. Spencer studied it for a moment.

"Is that a diary?" he asked. She nodded before grabbing it. Slowly, she pulled it open and started leafing through pages. Her shock grew and grew with every page. "What's wrong?"

"It's Chelsea's diary."

"I figured that," he told her. She shook her head.

"A lot of entries she made, we helped her write. Sometimes we added our comments or thoughts, and helped her think of what to write. And it's all here!"

"And this is odd because...?" he asked, confused.

"Chels hated pink. He diary was blue." Now Spencer understood the problem. "But it's her hand writing. It's all of our hand writing, actually." She made it to the last entry in the book and a picture fell out. Nervously, she picked it up, but dropped it as soon as she saw what it was.

"What?" he asked, alarmed. With a gulp, she handed him the picture. He would have dropped it too if not for being used to unusual suprises and twists. The picture was of Chelsea. But that's not what made it shocking. There were two Chelsea's smiling up at him. "Does... did Chelsea have a twin sister?" he asked, keeping his voice as calm and steady as possible.

"I don't think so. If she did, we never saw her and we never heard about her." Then silence eveloped them, after Spencer asked if it would be alright if he read it (even if the girl was (possibly) dead, he would feel like he was invading her privacy if he didn't ask). She allowed it and they were left to their thoughts. Spencer's headache made reading difficult, and he intentionally read extra-slow, but he finished all too soon.

He didn't know how much time passed, but it was a long time before the door opened again. Chelsea walked in with the same smile as before. She noticed the diary on the floor and the picture in Amber's hands.

"I knew you'd find it," she said.

"I didn't know you... Chelsea had a twin," Amber said.

"Silly, clueless, little bitch. I am Chelsea." Amber opened her mouth to say something, but Chelsea raised a hand to stop her. "I never told you about my sister, Kelsey, because she was an embarasment to the whole family. She was mentally unbalanced. She attacked people, lashed out at random times. She nearly killed my little brother once. That's when my parents decided they couldn't take it anymore and she was sent to a mental hospital. I was forced to visit with them every month. The picture was taken in the garden that the patients are allowed to go in for air and exercize. She hated it there, and she managed to run away. I knew she would come after me, so I killed her before she could."

"Why did you kill AJ and Katie? They were your friends." Amber was crying now.

"They saw me kill her. They would have told. I had to get rid of them."

"I had no clue. Spencer had no clue. Why are we here?"

"It would be too sloppy to kill just a few and leave others who could ruin everything. And you saw me. Last Friday after play practice."

"I thought I was imagining things!" There was a silence.

"She's lying," Spencer said.

"What?" they asked together, shocked.

"You told me that, while she may be manipulative, Chelsea would never hurt you and the others. This diary is pink, but Chelsea's was blue. A smart person would stop after killing who they needed to kill, not keep going and risk everything. This is Kelsey." To his suprise, Kelsey gave him a billion-dollar smile and started clapping slowly.

"Very good, Dr. Reid. I underestimated you. You must be very good at your job." He didn't give her the satifaction of responding. "You're a genius, if my information is correct. But, that might be very bad for me..." She pulled a gun from a holster he didn't see (_Really, _he thought, _I am losing my touch! How did I not notice that?_) and pointed it at him, at the dead center of his forhead. He realized that it was _his _gun. She must have seen this.

"A Glock 17. Standard issue for the FBI?" He didn't respond, just glared into her eyes. She smiled sweetly before holstering the gun. "I'm not going to kill you... yet." With that, she left again.

CM

Back at the police station, everyone was in overdrive, despirate to find their missing agent. Garcia had found the pictures on the computer at last, so, while the murder charges were dropped, that was all the proof they needed to lock him up. Hotch decided to see if a deal could get him to talk.

"You're facing some serious jail time," he said to the glaring boy. "I know you know something that you're not telling us. I can make a deal."

"What kind of deal?" his lawyer asked.

"He goes to a juvenial detention center until he's eighteen. When he is released, his record is expunged. He doesn't do jail time, he has no record."

"Why do you want to know this so bad?" the lawyer asked.

"Three girls are dead. We want to catch a murderer before we have to add another to that list." This didn't say that anything bad had happened, so they lawyer couldn't use that to get a better deal. They made sure nothing reached the ears of the three men in this room.

"It's a pretty good deal, kid," the lawyer told him. Conner looked up at his father, who looked disappointed in him, but nodded his head. Conner turned back to Hotch.

"Okay," he said. "I'll tell you what I know." Hotch waited for him to start talking. "The night I was supposed to meet Chelsea, she came early. Well, I thought it was her." He shook his head. "She said her name was Kelsey, and she handed me a book. It was a small blue diary. She told me that inside were all the secrets the girls had. She made me go home and blow off my meeting, told me to read the diary. I did. On the last page, the was a picture of two girls. Two _Chelsea's_. There was a red X on one and the back said 'All bitches must pay.'"

"Do you still have it?" Hotch asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, it's in a shoe box in the back of my closet."

"Thank you." Hotch stood and left. There was still a team, led by Prentiss, who were searching the house. He called her.

"Prentiss," he said, "Conner Jenkins just told me that in the back of his closet was a shoe box-"

"Yeah, we found it."

"Was there a girl's diary in it?"

"Yeah, it was weird, but we didn't open it."

"Well, it might have information in it. I need you to bring it here, A-S-A-P."

"Sure." The line went dead with that.


	15. Sticks and Stones

Chapter 15: Sticks and Stones

_Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me_- G. F. Northall

It was about ten minutes before Prentiss got to the police station with the diary. It was a small blue book with little kitten stickers. Hastily, Hotch opened it to the last entry, where Conner had said the photo was. It fell onto his lap and he stared at it in a daze.

Two Chelsea's grinned up at him. But there was something in their faces that didn't belong... One looked like she'd rather be anywhere but with the other. The other had a slightly resentful look on her face, eyes pointing over to the other, a slight hardness in her stare.

By this time, the others were behind him, staring in shock at the photo. Hotch unfroze enough to give orders.

"JJ," he said as he stood, handing her the diary, "read through this, see if there's any clues as to where the other girl might be. Morgan, come with me to Mrs. Dumant's house. The rest of you... finish the profile."

CM

They pulled up at the Dumant house shortly after. There was hardly a pause between the car being turned off and the agents rushing to the door. Hotch rung the doorbell and waited. It seemed so much longer than it was. Finally, it opened, revealing a slightly disheavaled Mrs. Dumant.

"Agent Morgan? Angent..." She didn't know Hotch.

"Hotchner," he said. "Mrs. Dumant, may we come in?"

"Yes, of course." She moved, allowing them to enter. They went into the small sitting room and, before they could speak, she asked a question. "Did you catch him yet?"

"Not yet... and we're not so sure if it's a him."

"What?"

"We had a suspect in custody when another girl and one of our agents were taken. He led us to this," Hotch explained, holding up the photo. Mrs. Dumant stared, wide eyed at it.

"Where did you get that?" she asked.

"In a diary."

"You have Chelsea's diary?"

"We got it from the suspect, who's charges were dropped." Hotch paused. "Why didn't you tell us about Kelsey?"

"How...?"

"Irrelevant. Please, answer the question."

"She was mentally ustable. When she was twelve she almost killed my son, so we admitted her to a mental institution so she could get better."

"She's violent?"

"Sometimes... You think-you think _she _killed the girls?"

"I do now."

"Agents," she said, "I think you should leave." With a nod, they did as she said. Before she closed the door, Hotch turned to ask one last thing.

"What is the name of the mental institution she was admitted to?" Mrs. Dumant told him, then bit her lip.

"Which girl was taken?"

"Amber Hunter." She closed her eyes.

"And the agent?"

"His name is Dr. Spencer Reid."

"I hope you find them... alive. You should know, Agent Hotchner, if it is Kelsey, she's devious. If you're not careful, she'll slip through your fingers."

"Thank you." They left after that.

CM

Spencer opened his eyes again, his body still aching, just not quite as much. Slowly, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and brush stray locks of hair from his face. He forced himself to sit up (it was harder than is should have been) and cast a glance over to Amber. She was still sleeping, her face peaceful dispite the situation they were in. A small smile crossed his face.

Spencer's stomach growled deeply and a stab of pain shot through his abdomen. He hadn't eaten since lunch the day they were taken. He should have eaten dinner that night, but hadn't been very hungry at the time. He was regreting that now.

He didn't know how long he let his thoughts wander, or how long he stared at the sleeping girl, but it must have been a while. He was forced back to reality by the door opening. Kelsey stepped in. She took note of the sleeping Amber.

"Isn't she _so_cute when she sleeps?" He didn't answer. With a sly smile, she slammed the door. Amber was snapped into consiousness with a start.

"Shit!" she swore. Kelsey giggled.

"That's better."

"What do you want?" Amber spat, venom in her tone.

"Just thought I'd drop in for a chat." They just glared at her. "You know, you're everything that Chelsea had that I wanted. I was poor, mentally unstable Kelsey who had no friends. She didn't deserve friends, though. She was almost as bad as I was."

"Bull shit!" Amber shouted, making Kelsey smile again.

"You don't believe me? Once, when we were eight, she tried to push me out of our tree house. The fall would have, if not kill, left me all battered and broken, but mommy and daddy didn't believe lying little Kelsey." She sighed. "This is payback."

"You know," Spencer said, "what comes around, goes around."

"Yeah, karma's a bitch," she agreed.

"It's not the only one," Amber told her.

"Sticks and stones, Amber. _Sticks. And. Stones._" Amber looked like Kelsey had come over and slapped her. With a satisfied grin, the angelic-looking murderer left.

Spencer looked back over at Amber. She had a tear rolling down her face.

"What? What's wrong?"

"How did she know that?" she asked in a hardly audible whisper.

"Know what?"

"Sticks and stones. That's how Chels and I met." Seeing his confused expression, she explained.

_-Flashback-_

_Thirteen-year-old Amber was in the gym. She had a horrible hair cut and all the other girls were laughing. She was so embarrased. When she got home after school, she was complaining to her sister._

_"It was so mean! You should of heard what they were saying!" The girls had been raised hearing the saying 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.' Amber's ranting was starting to get on Hailey's nerves._

_"Shut up!"_

_"No! I have every right to complain all I want. You weren't there. You wouldn't understand-"_

Smack!_ Hailey had slapped Amber across the face._

_Tears streamed down the younger girl's face. "Sticks and stones, Amber. Sticks. _And. Stones."_ With that, Amber took off, running outside, still holding her cheek._

_She wasn't watching where she was going, she ran head-long into someone._

_"Sorry," she muttered. The girl was her age with long, curly bloned hair and sweet blue eyes._

_"Why are you crying?" the girl asked. "And why are you holding your face like that?" Her voice was gentle, full of concern. When Amber didn't answer, she gently pulled her hand from her cheek. The spot was bright red. The girl she didn't even know was suddenly angry. "Who did this?"_

_"My sister," Amber whimpered._

_"Why?"_

_"'Cause I was complaining about what the girl's were saying about my hair cut."_

_"I like you're hair," she said. "It's unique." Amber smiled a little. "What else happened?"_

_"She slapped me and said 'Sticks and stones, Amber.'" The girl grabbed Amber's wrist and started walking the direction Amber had come from._

_"Where are we going?" Amber asked._

_"Me and you're sister are going to have a little heart to heart." Not sure what that meant, Amber gave the girl her address and together they walked into Amber's livingroom._

_The girl walked right up to Hailey and slapped her across the face._

_"What the hell?"_

_"Sticks and stones, bitch!" the girl said. Hailey and Amber were in shock. The girl leaned close to Hailey and said in a tone so low, Amber almost didn't hear it. "If I ever hear you hit her again, we're going to have a problem. Got it?" Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed Amber's wrist again and they left the house._

_"Bye the way, I'm Chelsea Dumant." It was instant friendship._

_-End Flashback-_

"She never told anyone that, and promised not to write it in her diary. How could she know?" Spencer didn't know what to say to her. This was going from bad to worse. Fast.


	16. Pretty Girls Should Never Kiss and Tell

Chapter 16: Pretty Girls Should Never Kiss and Tell

_A kiss may ruin human life_- Oscar Wilde

Back at the police station, they finally got contact with the place Kelsey Dumant was admitted to. It turned out that she went missing almost two weeks before Chelsea went missing. They said that they got in contact with the family, but it was obvious that Mrs. Dumant had no clue. Also, almost a mile from the home, a fire was set to a small house and only one person was in the house at the time. It was a girl, roughly fifteen years old, close to Kelsey's size. The body was completely unidentifyable. The family wasn't contacted about this, seeing as how there was no way to know who it was. Apparently, though, it wasn't Kelsey.

Conner Jenkins asked to talk to Hotch again. Confused, he went into the intergation room and sat until Conner decided to talk.

"The other day, I wasn't completely truthful," he said, guilt obvious in his eyes. "I met Kelsey before the night Chelsea went missing. I actually met her the night before the fire."

"What happened?"

"She told me that she wanted to get revenge at someone and asked to borrow my computer. I didn't want to, but she gave me a hundered dollars. She put the files on the computer, and told me not to look at them, but I did. She said that she would make my life hell if I told anyone, that it wouldn't just be the girls who went missing. The fire was unplanned, but she said that it could be used as leverage. I did what she said.

"The night Chelsea went missing, she gave me the diary and told me to hide it so if she got caught, she wouldn't get in trouble because there wouldn't be enough eveidence."

"Why are you telling me this now?" Hotch asked.

"Because, I just got a text message." He pulled his phone out of his pocket (Hotch didn't know why it hadn't been taken from him) and pressed a lot of buttons before handing the phone to him. On the screen was a picture of two people. Spencer and Amber.

Spencer was coated in blood, a loose strip of cloth on his right bicep. His hair was dirty, and also matted with dried blood. He had a look of pure hatred as he glared at the photographer. The expression just didn't look right on his face.

Amber had several cuts on her arms and a small welt on her cheek, but was otherwise unhurt (as far as he could see, anyway). Her expression was similar to Spencer's, but more determined, sort of. There was a fire in her eyes.

There was a catption under the picture._These two aren't very broken down are they? I'll just have to fix that. They need to learn their place before they die. And be sure Agent Hotchner sees this. He should ask Sara about the time she kissed and told. Hugs and kisses!_

Hotch immediatly sent the text message to his own phone. "Do you mind if I take this?" he asked, lifting Conner's phone. The boy shook his head and Hotch all but ran out. He looked at the phone number as he went over to Garcia.

"Garcia, I need you to try to trace a phone number."

"O-okay. What is it?" Quickly, he recited the number. She started typing and he threw the phone on the tabel. Without waisting another second, he went to find Sara. He sat across from her.

"I need to know something," he said.

"S-sure. What?"

"We got a message from the killer. I need to know about the time you 'kissed and told,'" he explained, making air quotes around the last three words. Her face paled.

"We went to a party at Amber's cousin's house. I brought my boyfriend at the time. We hadn't kissed before that. Afterwards, I told Chelsea and made her promise not to tell."

"Where was this?" She told him the adress for a house that was near a small town called Centerburg. "Thank you," he said. Before he could leave, she called out to him.

"Agent Hotchner, they moved almost two months ago." He nodded went to find Morgan and JJ so they could check it out.

CM

Kelsey put the phone in her pockt after her text was sent. "There, that should give your friends something to think about."

"This is rediculous!" Amber said. "Either kill us or let us go." Kelsey's smile turned into a glare.

"No. I run this show, not you. You are in no position to tell me what to do." Rather than flinching away from her intense stare, Amber met it with one of her own that had just as much fire in it.

"You were saying something about kissing and telling," Spencer said, distraction Kelsey, changing the subject. "What did you mean?"

"I meant that one of the little bitches kissed a boy and told Chelsea."

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"I know _everything_." She sighed. "She should have known better. Pretty girls should never kiss and tell..."

"So you wouldn't?"

"Of course not. I'm too smart for that." She walked over to his cot and sat next to him. She leaned in way too close for his comfort, but he refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing him squirm, so he heald his ground.

Her perfume made it's way over to him. It smelled like... like lilacs. His mother's favorite flower... Her hair was brushing his cheek as she moved her mouth close to his ear. She whispered so softly he could hardly hear it.

"Do I have to prove it?" He said nothing and hardly supressed the urge to gulp loudly. She made him nervous, but he didn't show it. He masked it perfectly. She took his silence as a 'yes,' though. She brought her face back in front of his. Slowly, as if daring him to move a muscle, to flinch of turn away, she pressed her lips to his. He was an unmoving, unfeeling stone. But that didn't stop her.

She put a hand on the back of his neck, raising goose bumps. He wanted so badly to pull away, or push her off. Hell, he'd have loved to punch her (if he hadn't been raised with the belief that you can't hit a girl). Her eyes closed, but his remained open.

Behind her, he could see Amber standing and walking slowly and silently toward him. She pressed a finger to her lips telling him not to react. Her hand inched toward the gun on Kelsey's hip.

But that's about the time that she started to give up on him. Amber's eyes widened. She franticly spun her hand in circles. 'Don't stop, keep going!' she mouthed. Hating himself very much, both for his morals against it and giving a killer what she wanted, he placed a hand on the back of her neck, pulling her closer. He unfroze and kissed her back.

It took Amber a moment to get the gun, but she did and he didn't think Kelsey noticed. Amber silently walked back to the bed, hiding the gun under the pillow and lowered herself carefully down. Finally, he was about to pull away. With a very self-satisfied smile, Kelsey stood, not noticing the absence of his gun. She made the same gesture with her finger over her lips before turning and leaving. With a smile, Amber held up the gun and passed it over to him. This was their way out.


	17. Prison Break

Chapter 17: Prison Break

_Think you're escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is shortest way home_- James Joyce

They waited a moment before speaking, making sure Kelsey really was gone. Then Amber jumped up and walked over to the door, inspecting the lock. Then she looked back at her cot. Her jacket was at the foot. With a devious smile, she snatched it up.

She felt one side of it near the zipper for a moment. Then she did what he didn't expect. She ripped it open with a bit of effort. There was somthing silver inside. She fiddled with it for a moment, but finally pulled it out. She flashed him a triupmhant smile and held it up. It was a safety pin.

"Why do you have that?" he asked.

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," she said as she turned back to the door. He watched her closely. She winced with every step, trying not to put weight on her ankle. He vaguely remembered that it was broken.

"You shouldn't be walking on that. You'll make it worse."

"Do _you _know how to pick locks?" she snapped. Spencer's eyes widened.

"How do _you _know?" he asked as she put the, now-straightend, safety pin in the lock.

"Ask no questions," she repeated. It was slow work, but eventually the lock opened with a soft _click! _She grinned at him and slowly opened the door. He smiled back and stood, gun in hand. He stepped toward the door, but she stopped him, picking up the jacket.

Careful not to hurt him, she pulled the blood-stained bandage from his arm, throwing it down. She winced as she saw the wound. She ripped a strip from the bottom of the jacket and, trying to ignore his involentary winching, tied it firmly in place. Then she went around him and stepped on his cot. She moved hair from the back of his head and inpected the gash there. He gritted his teeth as she tried to see if it was still bleeding any. It wasn't.

"Not anything I can do about this one," she told him. Carefully, she jumped down, landing on one foot. She swayed in place.

"What's wrong?" he asked, nervous.

"I... I think my blood sugar is a little low." She raised a hand and saw it was shaking violently. "Dizzy..." He was confused, unsure why it was showing so suddenly. Then he realized that the adrinaline probably made it easier to hide. As he watched her, she fell.

"Amber!" He helped her up, keeping a hand on her shoulder so she wouldn't fall.

"I don't think I can... go... far..." Biting his lip, Spencer bent down.

"Come on, I'll carry you." She looked at him skepticly.

"I don't think I'm light enough. I'm... not exactly as light as you're average back pack."

"I don't care, I'll live. I'm not leaving you." After a moment, she put her arms around his neck and he stood. She carefully put her legs around his waist. The strain on him was obvious, but he said nothing. Instead, he lifted the gun infront of him and started walking.

He walked slowly, trying not to make noise. He didn't think it would be very good if someone heard him.

"I know where we are," Amber whispered. He was suprised. "This is my cousin's old house."

"How do we get out of here, then?" She pointed down a hallway. He followed it to a closed door. He opened it quickly and pointed his gun in, checking the room quickly. No one was there. Then Amber gasped and burried her head in his shoulder. "What?"

For an answer, she pointed to something in the corner. It took him a moment to see what it was. Then he realized it was a body. A large, beefy man. He pointed his gun at him, but he didn't move. It was another moment before he realized the man had blood on him. He was dead. There was a door at the far side of the room and he haistily made for it.

The door was unlocked. And better, it led outside. He walked out, refusing to lower his gun, and noticed a car a little way down the drive way. He walked slowly to it, and made sure it was empty. Carefully, he lowered Amber into the passenger's seat, handing her the gun.

"If you see someone, and you think they're going to attack, aim the gun at them and shoot." A bit nervous, she nodded. With that, Spencer walked back around the car and started working.

No one came and a few moments later, Spencer had hotwired the car. With a smile, he started driving. She put the gun in between them, staring at him.

He noticed this. "What?"

"You thought it was weird that I knew how to pick locks and you know how to hotwire cars." He grinned sheepishly.

"I... It's just something I picked up. I've never had to do it before." Desperate to change the subject, he asked her something. "Do you know how to get to Mt. Vernon from here?" She nodded and started giving him directions.

"Are we going to the hospital?"

"That depends. Do you think you'll live for an hour or two without it?" She nodded.

"My injuries are all bloody. Yours are." He shook his head.

"I'm fine. I need to talk to my team as soon as possible."

CM

JJ and Morgan made it to the adress not long after Spencer and Amber left. But they didn't know that. What they _did _know was that the building had been on fire. The fire trucks were there, firefighters walking around the scene. Morgan walked up to one of them.

"Was there anyone in there?" The man looked somberly at him.

"Yes, but it was too late. Everyone in there was already dead." The man's voice was full of greif. Not far off, four body bags lay. Tears threatening to leak out (JJ already had tears streaking down her cheeks), Morgan pulled out his phone to call Hotch.


	18. Catching Fire

A/N: The story is drawing to a close. In this chapter, Garcia may be a bit OOC again. Actually, everyone is kind of OOC due to the situation. Hope you've enjoyed the story so far. -A

Chapter 18: Catching Fire

_If everyone fought fire with fire, the whole world would go up in smoke_- Author Unknown

"Hotchner," he said into the receiver.

"Hotch, it's Morgan." His voice was thick.

"What's wrong?"

"The house, Hotch, it was on fire." Hotch said nothing. "Four bodies were pulled out..."

"Survivors?"

"None." Morgan's voice cracked. "JJ's talking to the medical examiner. Hold on, I'll put you on speaker." There was a pause. "Okay, JJ, what did she say?"

"The bodies are past identifcation." It was obivous, even over the phone, that she was crying. "There were two girls. The examiner placed age around fourteen the seventeen. There were also two grown men. One, between age fourty and fourty-five. The other..." There was a choking sob. "Between twenty-five and thirty." Hotch closed his eyes, fighting back a tears that haven't fallen since Hailey's death.

"Okay," he said, trying to keep himself in check. "Come back. There's no reason for you to stay there." The line went dead a second later. The whole team was staring at him.

"Hotch, what happened?" Emily asked.

"There... there was a fire at the adress..." Everyone waited in bated breath, dreading the answer. "There were no survivors." Emily put her hand to her mouth, making a series of choking, sobbing noises. Garcia put her head down, tears spilling into her lap. Rossi sank into a chair, putting his head in his hands. The girls sunk to their knees and began crying.

Behind the greiving party, the elevator dinged. No one turned to see who it was. The pair came into the odd scene, and were really confused.

"Who died?" the man asked Hotch sarcasticly, his voice a monotone whisper. Without turning, he answered.

"Dr. Reid and Amber Hunter." The new arrival raised an eyebrow and glanced at his equally confused companion.

"Really?" Hotch nodded stiffly. "That's weird. You'd think we'd know it if we were dead..." His voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. All heads snapped up to see the young agent supporting a wobbly teenager. The next few minutes were chaos.

Amber's friends squashed her in the middle of a group hug. Garcia ran up, still crying histericly, and wrapped him in a crushing bear hug.

"Um, Garcia?" he said, wincing, but trying to sound normal.

"Yes, my sweet, sweet Boy Wonder?"

"You're hurting me." Like he was red-hot, she spurng back, putting her hands over her mouth.

"I'm sorry!" she said sheepishly. He smiled at her reassuringly.

"It's okay." He turned to the rest of the group. "Why did you think we were dead?"

"We got an adress from the boy, Conner Jenkins. When Morgan and JJ got there, they said there was a fire. Four bodies were pulled out. They matched your ages."

"What adress did he give you?" Hotch told him. "Well, that's where we were..."

"Speaking of, how did you get here?" Amber grinned at his uncomfortable expression.

"We got ahold of Spencer's gun," she said. "I picked the lock out of out of our room and we got out. Then Spencer hotwired a car that was in the driveway and we left."

"You know how to hotwire a car?" asked a voice behind them. Everyone spun around to see Morgan and JJ, both looking like they'd fall apart. JJ ran up to him and wrapped him in another crushing hug, but let go a few seconds later.

"Don't ever worry us like that again, Spence!" He smiled sheepishly.

They had patched Spencer up as best they could since he didn't want to go to the hospital that night. The conversation continued until Amber's mother came. She was histaric, not unlike Garcia was earlier.

Everyone assumed that Kelsey had died in the fire, so the girls were free to go home without the agents. Before Amber left for the hospital with her mother, Spencer handed her a slip of paper.

"That's my e-mail adress. If you ever need to talk, just send me an e-mail." She smiled and nodded.

"Don't kiss and tell," she whispered before walking out. The team was ready to get on the jet half an hour later. Once in the air, everyone finally relaxed.

Hotch sat closest to the front of the jet, reading a book. JJ and Garcia sat not far from him, talking. Emily was sitting alone, listening to her iPod. Rossi had fallen asleep at his seat. Spencer was staring blankly out the window, Morgan watching him closely.

Unable to sit there any longer, Morgan stood and walked over to the young agent.

"How you holding up?" he asked in a whisper, sitting across from Spencer.

"Hmm? Oh, fine."

"You sure?" Spencer stared into his eyes for a moment before answering.

"I know why you're asking, and you don't need to worry. It's not going to happen."

"You don't know that-"

"Yes, I do know that. Last time, I didn't have much of a choice. I wasn't drugged this time. Even if I was, I still wouldn't go back to the drugs. They almost ruined my life."

"Look, we knew that it wasn't your fault. No one blamed you."

"I know that. But I blamed me. You can't believe how much I hated myself. With every hit, I hated myself more. I thought of what you guys would say if I admitted it." Morgan opened his mouth to speak, but a look from Spencer shut him up. "I know that you guys knew. And I also thought of what my mother would say if she knew." He closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm not going donw that road agian."

"If you ever need to talk..." but Spencer wasn't listening. He was digging in his satchel. From it, he pulled out a small medalion. "What's this?"

"I got that when I was clean for a year."

"Why do you carry this?"

"Because..." He smiled as he recalled Kelsey's words. "Because temptaion's a bitch." As he took it back, Morgan stared at him with his mouth hanging open. Then he bust out laughing. Hotch looked up, confused. JJ and Garica jumped and stared at him. Rossi woke up with a start. Prentiss, who couldn't hear over her music, saw everyone else staring and pulled an ear bud out, suprised to hear Morgan laughing like a mad man.

"Derek? What's so funny?" Hotch asked.

"Spencer."

"You think _Spencer _is funny?" JJ asked, incredelous. "You've gone insane."

"Hey!" Spencer said. "I'm right _here!_"

"No, Spencer, _our _Spencer, just cussed." Everyone stared at him with the same open-mouthed shock.

"I'm a grown man," Spencer said. "This is shocking because..."

"Well, no one's ever heard you swear before," Hotch said. Spencer blushed.

"That's not exactly true..."

"When?" Prentiss asked, eager to hear this.

"I was sixteen, leaving the college campus for the day, and I, uh, I fell down a flight of stairs and broke my ankle..." Everyone started laughing.

"What did you say?" Garcia asked.

"F- I, um, don't really remember..." he lied. Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Spencer," Morgan said, "you have an elictic memory. You remember." A huge smile crossed JJ's face.

"I know what he said," she told them confidantly.

"What?" Morgan asked.

"It's a little four-letter work that rhymes with 'duck,' am I right?" Spencer's blush said it all. Everyone started laughing again. _They'll never let me live this down, _he thought as the plane made it's way unnaturally slow toward Virginia. But everyone was happy and in one piece. Life seemed good.


	19. Epilogue: Defying Gravity

Epilogue: Defying Gravity

_Kiss me goodbye, I'm defying Gravity_- Defying Gravityproformed by Glee Cast  
>(and no, I'm not a Gleek, the song was mentioned in a book)<p>

She laughed as she stared out the window. Life couldn't be better. Sure, she let them go, but that was a problem that could be easily fixed. And she had a plan to do just that. Plus, no one would ever suspect her. That was one of the perks of being dead.

Spencer Reid. She sighed. She regreted the need to kill him, she really did. He was too cute to waist, plus a brain like his could give so much to the world. But he couldn't be allowed to live. She was obsessed. He consumed her every thought. She was in love with the man who would never love her back.

That's why she had to kill him. Not because, even if he knew she was alive, he would reject her, but because the thought of him holding another woman in his arms infuriated her. He was too good for every woman in the world, save for her. They didn't deserve him. And if she couldn't have him, no one ever would.

If the situation had been different, they might have had a chance. He might have chosen her. But that's not what happened, and now they would never be. She smiled at the thought of steeling one last kiss from him before they died in each other's arms. _Just like Romeo and Juliet, _she thought as she drifted to sleep. Soon, the airplane would land in Las Vegas and she could begin her plan. Dr. Spencer Reid would be hers, in the end. And with that in mind, she gave way to the black of unconsiousness.


End file.
